PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots (19-12, 6-6 WCC) earned their second WCC series win of the season after splitting their doubleheader against the San Diego Toreros (19-11, 7-5 WCC). The Pilots dropped the first game but bounced back with a walk-off win in extra innings in Game 2.

Here's our recap of both contests.

GAME 1

The Toreros took the first game of the doubleheader over the Pilots 8-6 thanks to a big seventh inning. The Pilots made a short-lived comeback before falling short.

Nick Nygard took the loss after pitching the seventh inning and allowing the three runs. Prior to that, Caleb Franzen started and went six innings with five runs and seven hits allowed with four strikeouts.

The Pilots had plenty of offense, with six runs off 10 hits. Once again four Pilots had at least two hits on the day, with Jake Holcroft and Ty Saunders standing out. Holcroft went 2-for-4 with two RBI's while Saunders batted 2-for-3 with two RBI's and a homerun. Spencer Scott was also 2-for-5 while Nich Klemp went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Trace Tammaro picked up where he left off on Friday, driving in a run off a single to give Portland a 1-0 lead. That lead didn't last long, however, with two runs in the second inning for the Toreros. Franzen walked one runner in and Cody Jefferis hit a sacrifice fly to give San Diego a one-run lead.

The Toreros added three more runs in the fifth inning. Kevin Sim hit a double down the left field line that brought in the first run. Then Caleb Ricketts hit his second homer of the series to bring himself and Sim back to the dugout. San Diego found themselves with a 5-1 lead.

The next inning saw the Pilots mount a furious comeback to take back the lead. Holcroft got things started with an RBI double to left field that scored two. Then Klemp added to that total with an RBI double that brought Portland within one. Finally, Saunders stepped to the plate and hit a two-run homer – his first of the season and second of his career – that made it 6-5 Pilots.

Unfortunately for Portland, their lead was once again short-lived. Ricketts brought in one runner with a single right up the middle to give San Diego the lead. RJ Teijeiro followed suit, scoring two off another single up the middle. That proved to be the final, as Portland wouldn't score again.

GAME 2

The Pilots won the second game in the bottom of the 10^th inning after scoring on a throwing error home. The victory clinched the Pilots' second WCC series win of the season.

Joey Gartrell earned his first win of the season after earning the critical out for the Pilots in the 10^th inning. Eli Morse was stellar once again as a starter, going 6.2 innings with two runs allowed and eight strikeouts.

Portland came up just shy of double-digit hits at nine, but still scored five runs. Briley Knight and Tony Boetto were the only two Pilots to accumulate at least two hits on the day, with Knight going 2-for-2 with one RBI and Boetto hitting 2-for-5. Sam
Brown also had two RBI's off his only hit of the evening.

The Pilots started the scoring again with two runs in the third inning. Sam Brown brought in two with a single to right center, making it 2-0. Briley Knight added another score with a sacrifice fly in the following inning. The Pilots led 3-0 after four.

The seventh, eighth and ninth innings were all Toreros. Cody Jefferis had an RBI double while Max Jung-Goldberg hit an RBI single to cut the Pilots lead to one. RJ Teijeiro hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth to tie it up, following that up in the ninth inning with a score off the throwing error by Ben Patacsil. Suddenly, the Toreros held a 4-3 lead.

When things looked bleak, Knight stepped up for Portland. He started the bottom of the ninth with a double to get in scoring position. He made his way to third before Spencer Scott stepped to the plate. San Diego pitcher Ryan Robinson threw a wild pitch that gave Knight a chance to get home. Knight delivered, tying things up at four. Extra innings were up next.

The Pilots held off the Toreros with the bases loaded to head into the bottom of the 10^th. San Diego walked two Pilots and then failed to corral the ball at first base to load the bases. Boetto then stepped to the plate with a chance to deliver a win. He hit a routine grounder to Jefferis, but the shortstop's throw home was off. Klemp made a break and got home, giving Portland the win.

The Pilots will be back on the road for their next WCC series, heading to Spokane for their showdown against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They'll start the series on Thursday, April 16 with first pitch set for 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for information on a stream and live stats.