SPOKANE, Wash. – The Portland Pilots (20-13, 7-7 WCC) split the games tonight against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (22-9, 10-4 WCC), dropping the first game before winning the second in thrilling fashion. Game 1 was a continuation of yesterday's postponed matchup.
Here's the recap from both contests.
GAME 1
Gonzaga took advantage of the stoppage in play, hitting a key two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to surge past the Pilots.
Nick Nygard, who subbed in as the pitcher for the Pilots in the second day of action, took the loss after giving up a two-run homer in the eighth. Michael Spellacy took the win after pitching the ninth and getting a win. Brett Gillis was solid in the start for Portland, with only one run and three hits allowed and seven strikeouts.
The Pilots earned three runs off seven hits. Jake Tsukada was the only Pilot with more than one hit at 2-for-5. Jake Holcroft went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a double while Sam Brown was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Zags scored the first run of the game in the third inning. With a runner in scoring position, Connor Coballes hit a single to left field that gave Gonzaga a 1-0 lead.
That lead didn't last for long, as the Pilots put together their biggest scoring inning of the night. In the fourth inning, Holcroft got the scoring started with an RBI double. Then Sam Brown brought Holcroft home off an RBI single of his own. Portland scored one more run off a wild pitch to make it 3-1 Pilots.
Gonzaga scored the next two runs to tie things up. An error by Spencer Scott allowed one runner to score for the Bulldogs, cutting Portland's lead to one in the fifth inning. The Bulldogs tied things up two innings later in the seventh, with Tyler Rando hitting a homer. It was suddenly tied 3-3 in Spokane.
The Pilots and Zags did not finish the game the same night it started, with snow flurries pausing the action in the eighth inning. The game was restarted the next day starting in the bottom of the eighth. With fresh bats, the Zags took advantage. Savier Pinales hit a two-run homer to put the Zags up 5-3.
Portland made a final push, but they couldn't get a run. The Zags took the opener 5-3.
GAME 2
In a pitcher's duel until the end in Game 2, the Pilots took down the Zags 2-1 in a thriller towards the end.
Peter Allegro earned the win after pitching a stellar two innings for the Pilots. Brock Gillis was the starter, going a career-high seven innings with only one run and three hits allowed.
Portland had two runs off eight hits in the second game. Sam Brown was the star offensively, batting 3-for-4 with the winning RBI for Portland. Trace Tammaro also went 2-for-4 at the plate.
The Pilots' first run of the game came in the first inning. Jake Tsukada made it all the way to third after sneaking a hit along the left field line, then Evan Scavotto hit a grounder that gave Tsukada enough time to make it home. Portland had an early 1-0 lead.
After that, the bats went silent for the next three innings. Gonzaga broke that in the fifth inning. After two walks and a sac bunt put a runner on third, Savier Pinales hit a ground ball to bring a runner home and make it 1-1. Despite allowing the run, Gillis had not given up a hit yet.
The Pilots scored the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth. With a runner on third, Sam Brown stepped up to the plate and hit a screaming single to give Portland the lead.
After that, it was up to Allegro and the defense to hold them off. Allegro got the game-ending strikeout to hand Portland the win.
The rubber match will take place tomorrow at noon. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video.
