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Nich Klemp at the plate.
17
Winner Portland POR 1-0
3
Utah Tech UTU 0-1
Winner
Portland POR
1-0
17
Final
3
Utah Tech UTU
0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Portland POR 2 0 6 8 1 0 0 17 17 1
Utah Tech UTU 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 4 1

W: Gartrell, Joey (1-0) L: Brett Porthan (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Klemp Homers Twice in Portland's 17-3 win Over Utah Tech

ST. GEORGE, Utah -- Portland Catcher Nich Klemp put together a stellar outing at the plate Friday, hitting two home runs to help propel the Portland Pilots over the Utah Tech Trailblazers 17-3. The game was called after seven innings due to the WAC's 10-run mercy rule.

Sophomore right-hander Joey Gartrell (1-0) got the win for Portland (1-0). He went five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits, allowing three walks and striking out three. Sophomore Kaden Segel also pitched well, going two shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out four.

Klemp went 4-for-5 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with two RBI's. Tristan Gomes added to Klemp's awesome power-hitting performance by going 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBI's along with two walks.  Evan Scavotto also helped out for the Pilots, going 2-for-5 with a double, a walk and two RBI's while Jake Tsukada batted 3-for-4 with two RBI's.

How it Happened

The Pilots got the scoring started early, scoring twice. One run came across on Tsukada's single while the other came off a Briley Knight single.

The Trailblazers then gained ground, narrowing the lead to 2-1 until the Pilots expanded their advantage in the third. Portland hit two home runs in the inning on the way to pushing six runs across, which brought the Pilots lead to 8-1.

Utah Tech added a run before the Pilots stretched the advantage to 16-2 in the fourth inning. The Pilots bats heated up in the inning, scoring eight runs, including a two-run double off the bat of Scavotto and a two-run single from sophomore Spencer Scott.

Portland held the Trailblazers without a run before their offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. The Pilots scored a run when junior Jake Holcroft drew a walk that scored Tsukada, bringing the score to 17-2 in favor of Portland. Utah Tech put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Pilots still coasted to the 17-3 win.

Game Notes

  • Every Portland starter reached base safely in the win.
  • Portland's highest scoring inning was the fourth, when it pushed eight runs across.
  • Portland grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
  • Six Pilots had multiple hits in the ballgame.
  • Portland scored 17 runs on the day, the most they have scored in an opening day game since 1985. It's also the most they've scored on opening day against a Division I opponent.
  • The Pilots had a total of 17 hits. The Pilots out-hit the Trailblazers at a 17-4 clip.
  • Nich Klemp's two home runs marks the first time in his Pilot career he's had multiple home runs in a game. 
  • Tristan Gomes also hit a grand slam and had five RBI's in his Pilot debut. The last person homer in their Pilot debut was Jake Holcroft back in 2020. In that same game, Travis Turney had five RBI's with a homer as well.
  • Portland went 9-for-16 (.563) with runners in scoring position.
  • The Pilots got two hits in five at-bats with the bases loaded.
  • Portland pitchers limited Utah Tech to just 1-for-10 (.100) with runners in scoring position.
  • Portland pitchers faced 31 Utah Tech hitters in the game, allowing six ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out seven.
  • The Pilots drew seven walks from Utah Tech pitching.
  • Utah Tech was led offensively by senior Zach Thomas, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
  • Junior Carson Angeroth led the Trailblazers pitching staff, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings.
  • This is the fifth year in a row the Pilots have won their season opener.

Up Next

The Pilots and Trailblazers play a doubleheader tomorrow, starting at 1 p.m. The first game will be seven innings followed by a nine-inning game. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.

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