PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots (28-18, 14-8 WCC) fended off a late push from the Saint Mary's Gaels (25-25, 9-16 WCC) to take the series opener 8-6.

The win gives the Pilots their most wins in a season since 2010 and ties last year's total for WCC wins. It's just the third time the Pilots have hit at least 14 wins in WCC play since 2010. The Pilots have now won seven WCC contests in a row, the most they've won in a row since joining the conference.

Brett Gillis earned his ninth win of the season after a stellar outing. He went 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed. This is his third straight outing with no earned runs allowed and his second outing with no runs at all. Caleb Franzen, Joey Gartrell and Peter Allegro all pitched as well, with Allegro earning the save, his 11^th of the year.

The Pilots had eight runs off 10 hits. Jake Tsukada and Jake Holcroft were the only Pilots to have multiple hits, with Tsukada going 2-for-5 and Holcroft went 2-for-3 with an RBI double. Nich Klemp was also 1-for-2 at the plate with three RBI's.

The Pilots started the scoring early, with three runs in the first inning. The first came after Trace Tammaro was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Klemp hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the following run, then Briley Knight singled
to right field to make it 3-0 Portland. The Pilots had an early lead.

They built on that lead in the second, with three more runs. Klemp scored two more runs off an RBI double, then Jake Holcroft brought Klemp home with an RBI double of his own. The Pilots held a 6-0 lead through two innings.
That lead expanded even more in the fifth inning off some costly errors by the Gaels. Ryan Taurek threw a wild pitch that allowed Ben Patacsil to get home for one run. Then Marc Goulart had an errant throw back to the pitcher that allowed Jake Tsukada to score. The Pilots were now up 8-0 just five innings in.

But just when things got cushy for the Pilots, the Gaels made their move, scoring six runs in the seventh inning. First, Hayden Driggs singled through to the right side to score the first run. Then, with the bases loaded, Grant Napier hit a grand slam to bring the Gaels within three. Hunter Hirayama hit a sacrifice bunt to bring in one more run and make it only 8-6 Portland.
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After the late push, It was up to Allegro and the Pilots to shut down the Gaels and get Portland the win. Fortunately for Portland, Allegro and company were up to the challenge, keeping the Gaels at bay for an 8-6 win.

The Pilots and Gaels will be back at it tomorrow at 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video.