PORTLAND PILOTS (13-6)
WEEK 6 GAME NOTES

@ Oregon State Beavers (12-8)
Date: Tuesday, March 21
Location: Corvallis, Ore.
Ballpark: Goss Stadium
Video: Pac-12.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: Oregon State Leads 160-59-1
Last: POR 0, @OSU 4 (5/10/22)

PROBABLE STARTERS (2023 W-L, ERA)
Tuesday • March 21 • 5:35 PM
POR: TBD
OSU: TBD

THIS WEEK 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 a live streamand stat as well.
 
NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland plays their first road WCC series against the Pacific Tigers in Stockton, Calif. this weekend
• The two teams play on Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots earned their first sweep of the season, defeating the Pepperdine Waves in all three games this past weekend.
• The wins improved Portland's record to 13-6 overall and 3-0 in conference play. It was the first time the Pilots have swept the Waves since 2010.
• They also boast the most wins of any WCC team at 13 and was one of just two teams to sweep their opening WCC series.
• Jake Holcroft was electric at the plate, batting .647 with a home run and six RBI's. His 11 hits were the most of any player in the WCC this past week.
• His performance also helped him win WCC Player of the Week for the first time this season and the second time of his career.
• Zach Toglia also impressed, batting .429 in 14 at-bats and extending his hitting streak to 10, the longest on the team currently.
• Jacob Dobmeier also earned WCC Co-Pitcher of the Week after earning three saves this past weekend. The current conference leader in saves (five), he was the only WCC pitcher to earn multiple saves last weekend and recorded as many saves in one weekend as second place has all season.
• Portland currently leads the conference in batting average (.315), hits (205), runs per game (7.4), total runs (141), on-base percentage (.413), doubles (47), doubles per game (2.47) and hit by pitch (33). Nationally, they are are 16th in doubles per game, 17th in total doubles and 25th in batting average.
• Nich Klemp and Holcroft are two of the best bats in the conference, batting .413 and .388 respectively. That's good for second and third in the WCC.
• Klemp also leads the conference in doubles (8) and is tied for second with Holcroft in total hits (31) and hits per game (1.63). Holcroft is also third in total bases (51), fifth in slugging percentage (.638) and tied for sixth in home runs (four) and has been the third-toughest batter to strike out in the WCC, doing so only once every 13.3 at-bats.
• Among conference leaders, Brock Gillis is second in both total strikeouts (38) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.38) and Ben Patacsil is first in hit by pitch at 10.
• The Pilots have four qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .300: Klemp (.413), Holcroft (.388), Tristan Gomes (.324) and Jake Tsukada (.313).
• On the mound this weekend, beyond the relief dominance from Dobmeier, Peter Allegro put together one of the best starts of his career on Sunday.
• Allegro went 6.1 innings with a career-high 10 strikeout and only two walks and three hits allowed. He's allowed just four runs and eight hits over his last three starts.
• 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 Oregon State Beavers are 12-8 on the season.
• They hit .274 as a team and have a 3.45 staff ERA.
• The Beavers swept the Pilots in their three games last season.
• Mitch Canham is in his fourth year as head coach of the Beavers.