PORTLAND PILOTS (10-6)
WEEK 5 SERIES NOTES

vs. Pepperdine Waves (5-9)
Dates: Fri-Sun, March 17-19
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Series: Pepperdine Leads 74-22
Last: POR 1, @PEPP 3 (5/22/22)

Friday • March 17 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Joey Gartrell (2-1, 3.98)
PEPP: LHP Shane Telfer (2-0, 2.45)

Saturday • March 18 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Brock Gillis (1-0, 3.32)
PEPP: RHP Brandon Llewellyn (0-1, 10.93)

Sunday • March 19 • 1 PM
POR: TBD
PEPP: TBD

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland opens conference play with a three-game series at home against the Pepperdine Waves.
• The two teams play from March 17-19, with Friday's game starting at 6 p.m., Saturday's at 3 p.m. and Sunday's at 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland goes back on the road for the first of three games against the Oregon State Beavers
• The two teams play on Tuesday, March 21 at 5:35 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots won their third series of the season against the Niagara, taking three of four games against the MAAC team.
• They took all three games over the weekend and then the fourth game on Tuesday. Their 19-2 win on Friday was their biggest since their 20-0 victory over San Diego back in 2019.
• The Pilots batted .314 at the plate, with five Pilots batting .300 or better in 10 or more at-bats over four games.
• Henry Muench batted team-leading .429 in 14 at-bats. He had four of those hits as well as four RBI's in that opening win, both being career highs for the outfielder.
• Zach Toglia also impressed, batting .400 in 10 at-bats and extending his hitting streak to seven, the longest on the team currently.
• Among other notable performers, Jake Holcroft batted .375 in 16 at-bats and Evan Scavotto batted .364 with a team-high seven RBI's.
• Portland currently leads the conference in hits (169), doubles (29), on-base percentage (.415), runs (123) and runs per game (7.7).
• Nich Klemp has been one of the best bats in the conference, hitting .422 on the year. He leads the conference in hits (27) and ranks third in batting average and hits per game (1.69).
• Among conference leaders, Brock Gillis leads the WCC in strikeouts (31) and is second in strikeouts per nine (12.88), Ben Patacsil is first in the conference and fifth nationally in hit by pitch (10), Jacob Dobmeier is one of four WCC pitchers with multiple saves (two) and Jack Folkins and Joey Gartrell are two of 12 pitchers with multiple wins (2).
• Jake Holcroft has also been the third-hardest batter in the WCC to strike out, doing so just once every 13.4 at-bats. He also ranks fourth in total hits with 23.
• The Pilots have five qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .300: Klemp (.422), Holcroft (.343), Tsukada (.333), Knight (.323) and Gomes (.313).
• Knight earned a hit in each of the first 11 games this season.
• On the mound, Brock Gillis and Peter Allegro put together two impressive starts.
• Gillis was electric on Saturday, throwing 10 strikeouts over six innings with just five hits and two runs allowed. His 10 strikeouts matches a career-high.
• Allegro went a season-high six innings with six strikeouts, no walks and only one run and four hits allowed.
• 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.
• In their annual prospect rankings, DI Baseball had Christian Cooney, Brock Gillis and Jake Holcroft as the 20th, 21st and 30th ranked WCC prospects respectively for the 2023 MLB Draft. Pitcher Joey Gartrell was also second among prospects for the 2024 draft.
• The Pilots return 28 players in total while adding 10 newcomers.
• Three returning Pilots made the All-WCC Preseason team this season: Jake Holcroft, Brock Gillis and Peter Allegro.
• Of the Pilots' 10 All-WCC honorees from last year, six return, including Holcroft, Allegro and Brock Gillis.
• 2023 marks the eighth year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 148 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).

LAST SEASON IN PILOT BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots enter the 2023 season after a highly successful 2022 campaign.
• The Pilots finished last 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.
• Brett 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.
• 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).
• 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, posted 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.  
• 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. 
• 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.
• Morse, now a volunteer assistant cooach for Portland, 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.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Pepperdine Waves are 5-9 as a team, entering the series seventh in the conference.
• They hit .233 as a team and have a 6.31 staff ERA.
• The Waves were picked to finish sixth in the WCC.
• Rick Hirtensteiner is in his eighth season as head coach of the Waves.

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