EUGENE, Ore. – The Portland Pilots (8-4) fell 18-2 in their first game this season against the Oregon Ducks (8-5). The loss is just the fourth of the year for Portland.

Brock Gillis took the loss for the Pilots, his first of the year, after giving up nine runs in five innings. The Ducks had 18 runs off 17 hits against the five Pilot pitchers that played. Jacob Hughes was credited with the win for Oregon with three innings pitched, no runs allowed and one strikeout.

Offensively, the Pilots earned two runs off of seven hits. Trace Tammaro was the top batter for Portland, going 2-for-3 on the day with a home run. Jake Holcroft was the only other batter with multiple hits at 2-for-3.

The Ducks scored quick and early in this one, with nine runs coming in just the first inning. They got things started with five runs in the first inning. Brennan Milone hit a sacrifice fly to bring in one run, Josh Kasevich brought in two more with a double and Colby Shade hit a solo homer to put Oregon up 5-0. That lead expanded to 6-0 after Tanner Smith hit a solo home run himself in the second inning.

Three more runs came for Oregon after a three-run shot from John Scanlon. The scoring slowed down momentarily after that, with the Pilots holding the Ducks hitless in the next two innings. The Ducks, however, got back on the board with a three-run RBI double courtesy of Jacob Walsh in the bottom of the sixth. The score stood at 12-0 with three left to play.

The Pilots eventually got on the board in the top of the seventh. With a runner on base, Tammaro hit his moonshot over wall in right center field to bring the Pilots within 10. Unfortunately for Portland, that would be the end of the scoring on their end.  The Ducks added six more runs in their final two innings at the plate to put the score at its final.

Next up, the Pilots will head back to California for a three-game series against the UC Riverside Highlanders. The opener is set for Thursday at 5 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and streaming options.