PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0)
WEEK 1 SERIES NOTES

at Utah Tech Trailblazers (0-0)
Dates: Fri-Sun, Feb. 17-19
Location: St. George, Utah
Ballpark: Bruce Hurst Field
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: N/A
Last: N/A

PROBABLE STARTERS (2022 W-L, ERA)

Friday • Feb. 17 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Joey Gartrell (4-1, 4.46)
UTU: RHP Brett Porthan (7-4, 6.75)

Saturday • Feb. 18 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Nick Brink (DNP)
UTU: RHP Ryan Hardman (4-2, 5.31)

Saturday • Feb. 18 • 4 PM
POR: RHP Brock Gillis (4-4, 4.61)
UTU: RHP Jake Dahle (2-6, 7.18)

Sunday • Feb. 19 • 11 AM
POR: TBD
UTU: TBD

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Play ball! The Portland Pilots open the regular season this weekend with a four-game series against the Utah Tech Trailblazers.
• They'll play on Friday at 3 p.m., a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 11 a.m. The first game of Saturday's doubleheader will be only seven innings.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots will travel to College Station for a three-game series against the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies
• The two teams will play on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25 at 12 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 26 at 11 a.m.'
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats as well.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Portland Pilots enter the 2023 season on the heels of a highly successful 2022 campaign.
• The Pilots finished the year second in the WCC with a 32-23 record overall and a 17-10 record in WCC play. It was their best overall record since the 2010 season and their best WCC record ever.
• Portland's second-place finish, also their best ever, helped them qualify for the WCC Tournament for the first time in program history. They finished third in the tournament.
• The Pilots had 10 players earn All-WCC honors last season, a program record. The honorees for Portland were Brett Gillis, Jake Holcroft, Peter Allegro, Sam Brown, Brock Gillis, Eli Morse, Ben Patacsil, Trace Tammaro, Jake Tsukada and Joey Gartrell.
• Gillis and Holcroft were the Pilots' two first team selections, with Gillis being the first Pilot to ever win WCC Pitcher of the year after an incredible year on the mound.
• Gillis, an All-American for both Collegiate Baseball News and the ABCA/Rawlings, posted a 2.24 ERA with a 9-2 record overall. He led the WCC in ERA and ranked second nationally among pitchers with 70 or more innings pitched.
• The Washington native was also first in the WCC in hits allowed per nine innings (6.51), second in wins, third in strikeouts (115), fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.27) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.59). Nationally, he was 21st in strikeouts, 23rd in wins, 27th in strikeouts per nine and 29th in hits allowed per nine.
• Gillis was one of two Pilots taken in the 2022 MLB Draft, being taken in the ninth round by the Houston Astros. Southpaw pitcher Caleb Franzen was also taken in the 12th round by the Colorado Rockies.
• Of the 10 honorees from last year, seven return for the Pilots, including Holcroft, Allegro and Brock Gillis, who all made the 2023 WCC All-Preseason Baseball Team.• Holcroft was the top batter for the Pilots last season, batting .343 with four home runs, 26 RBI's and a combined .893 on-base and slugging percentage (OPS).
• Holcroft was third in the conference in batting average, fifth in total hits (71), tied for eighth in doubles (15) and ninth in on-base percentage (.420). D1 Baseball also picked Holcroft as the 30th ranked 2023 draft prospect in the WCC.
• Allegro was one of the best relief pitchers in the nation last year. He was an All-WCC Second Team selection and an ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region Second Team selection -- the first All-Region selection for the Pilots along with Brett Gillis since 1992 -- after posting a 2.76 ERA in 24 appearances.
• Allegro was first in the WCC and ninth nationally in saves at 13 last year. He is a preseason All-American as well, having made the first team for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the second team for Collegiate Baseball News.
• Brett's brother, Brock, is the third All-WCC preseason pick for the Pilots, making the team after posting a 4-4 record with a 4.61 ERA in 18 appearances (13 starts) in his first year at Portland.
• In WCC play, the Washington transfer posted a 2-1 record with a 2.93 ERA. He is the only returning pitcher for Portland who posted 10 or more starts last season. He was the 21st ranked draft prospect for the Pilots by D1 Baseball.
• Among other All-WCC returners for Portland, Trace Tammaro provides a strong bat after hitting .323 at the plate with seven home runs, 27 RBI's and an OPS of 1.019.
• Tammaro was one game short of meeting the criteria to qualify as a statistical leader for the WCC. If he had qualified, he would have ranked first in OBP (.457), second in OPS, third in slugging percentage (.562) and seventh in batting average among WCC players. He was also tied for ninth in walks despite playing nine games less than the next closest player in games played.
• Ben Patacsil, who earned All-WCC Honorable Mention last year, was a solid third baseman for the Pilots, batting a career-best .290 with a home run and 21 RBI's.
• Patacsil earned five hits in the season opener against the Creighton Bluejays. He was just one shy of matching the single-game record for the Pilots in that category.
• A player who did hit that coveted six-hit mark was Jake Tsukada, the Pilots' returning second baseman who did so back in 2021 against the Pacific Tigers.
• Tsukada batted .274  with 20 RBI's and seven stolen bases.
• Gartrell rounds out the returning All-WCC players for the Pilots, having made the freshman team last season.
• The Oregon native had the most appearances of any Pilot pitcher with 26 (three starts). He posted a 4-1 record as well as a 4.46 ERA. Gartrell was also ranked second by D1 Baseball out of 10 prospects for the 2024 draft.
• Although Morse doesn't return as a player, he will serve as a volunteer assistant coach for the Pilots.
• Morse is the all-time leader in strikeouts for the Pilots at 297. He went 8-2 in 16 appearances for Portland last year, posting a 3.91 ERA with 96 strikeouts.
• The Pilots were picked to finish fourth in the WCC this season, which is their highest slotting ever and their highest under head coach Geoff Loomis.
• D1 Baseball picked the Pilots to finish third in the conference with an outside shot to make the NCAA Regional.
• The Pilots return 28 players in total while adding 10 newcomers.
• 2023 marks the eighth year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 143 career wins as Portland's skipper, Loomis already ranks fourth all-time for total wins at Portland.
• Loomis is a Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member who still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376).

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Utah Tech Trailblazers went 22-33 overall and 14-16 in WAC play in 2022, finishing fourth in the West Division and eighth in the conference.
• They hit .289 as a team with a staff ERA of 6.50.
• They were picked to finish eighth in the WAC again this season, with no players selected to the All-WAC preseason team.
• The Trailblazers welcome back four of their top six batters from last season, including All-WAC first team selection Parker Schmidt and 2021 All-Wac selection Shane Taylor.
• Chris Pfatenhauer is in his 11th season as head coach of the Trailblazers. He was a two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year and earned his 300th win in the final game of last season.

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