PORTLAND PILOTS (5-2)
WEEK 3 SERIES NOTES

vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (5-3)
Dates: Fri-Sun, March 3-5
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Series: 18-10
Last: @POR 6, UVU 4 (5/11/2022)

PROBABLE STARTERS (2023 W-L, ERA)
Friday • March 3 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Joey Gartrell (1-0, 2.89)
UVU: RHP Logan Gerling (2-0, 2.70)

Saturday • March 4 • 12 PM
POR: RHP Nick Brink (1-0, 1.93)
UVU: RHP Mitch Mueller (1-1, 0.90)

Saturday • March 4 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Brock Gillis (0-0, 5.19)
UVU: TBD

Sunday • March 5 • 1 PM
POR: TBD
UVU: RHP Jayse Burkett (1-0, 0.00)

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots host the Utah Valley Wolverines for a four-game series.
• They'll play on Friday at 3 p.m., a Saturday doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. and the Sunday finale at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will also be streamed on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats as well.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland hosts the Washington Huskies on Tuesday, March 7 at 4 p.m. for the first of two games against them.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats as well.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots impressed the nation this past weekend after defeating the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies in two out of three games in College Station.
• The series marked the first time that the Pilots have ever defeated an SEC team in a single game, let alone a three-game series. The Aggies are also the highest ranked opponent the Pilots have ever defeated in both a series and a single game.
• The Pilots fell in the Sunday finale, but if they had won, it would have been the first time Texas A&M had been swept at home by a non-conference opponent since 1986.
• They are currently tied with San Diego for the most wins to start the season in the WCC.
• Spencer Scott was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week after batting .500 and with a double and three RBI's, including the two RBI's that gave Portland the lead in their series-clinching victory last Saturday.
• Portland currently lead the conference in batting average (.336), hits (84), home runs (11), on-base percentage (.434) and slugging percentage (.528).
• Nationally, they are 15th in batting average.
• Portland catcher Nich Klemp is one of the best hitters in the country, batting .581 with 18 hits, two home runs, and eight RBI's. He's also posted an OPS of 1.468.
• Conference-wise, Klemp leads the WCC in hits, hits per game (2.57) runs (12) and runs per game (1.71), ranks second in batting average and on-base percentage (.629) and fourth in slugging percentage (.839).
• Nationally, Klemp is first in hits per game, fourth in total hits and batting average, 19th in runs per game and 22nd in OBP.
• Among other conference leaders, Tristan Gomes leads the conference in slugging percentage (0.929) and is fourth in OBP (.556), Briley Knight is fourth in RBI's (10) and doubles (3) and sixth in RBI's per game (1.43), Jake Holcroft is third in home runs (3) and also fourth in doubles (3) and Ben Patacsil leads the conference and ranks seventh in fourth nationally respectively in hit by pitch (5) and hit by pitch per game (0.83).
• The Pilots have four qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .350: Klemp (.581), Gomes (.429), Knight (.414) and Scott (.353).
• On the mound, Jack Folkins and Jacob Dobmeier each earned their first wins of the year while Peter Allegro took the lone loss.
• Folkins made two appeareances in relief, pitching four innings total with five strikeouts and no hits or runs allowed. Dobmeier made one appearance, going 3.1 innings with one hit allowed, one walk and a strikeout.
• 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 Utah Valley Wolverines are 5-3 heading into this series against the Pilots
• They hit .245 as a team and have a 4.97 staff ERA.
• Last year, the Pilots won their lone game against the Wolverines.
• Head Coach Eddie Smith is in his second season with Utah Valley.

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