Baseball 3/9/2023 3:25:00 PM

Pilots Host Niagara for Four-Game Series

PORTLAND PILOTS (7-5)
WEEK 4 SERIES NOTES

PROBABLE STARTERS (2023 W-L, ERA)

Friday • March 10 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Joey Gartrell (1-1, 4.11)
NIA: RHP Ryan Minckler (0-2, 6.75)

Saturday • March 11 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Brock Gillis (1-0, 3.43)
NIA: RHP Marcus Cashman (2-0, 0.00)

Sunday • March 12 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Peter Allegro (0-2, 10.45)
NIA: LHP Blake MacMillan (1-0, 5.00)

Monday • March 13 • 3 PM
POR: TBD
NIA: TBD

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland hosts the Niagara Purple Eagles in a four-game series this weekend at Joe Etzel Field.
• The two teams play Friday through Monday with each game starting at 3 p.m. except for Sunday's, which will start at 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.

NEXT UP 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.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots split their four-game series against the Utah Valley Wolverines this past weekend, taking Games 2 and 4 but dropping Games 1 and 3.
• The 2-2 split means the Pilots still have not dropped a series yet this season.
• In addition, Portland dropped their midweek contest against the Washington Huskies, the first of two meetings between the two clubs.
• Despite the losses, Portland still currently has the most wins in the WCC with seven on the year.
• Jake Holcroft impressed this past week, batting .450 over five games in 20 at-bats with nine hits, three RBI's and 12 total bases.
• Holcroft was one of three Pilots to bat over .300 over the past week in 10 or more at-bats, with Jake Tsukada and Christian Cooney being the other two at .400 and .300 resepectively.
• Portland currently leads the conference in ERA (4.26), runs (79) and hits (125)
• Nich Klemp has been one of the best bats in the conference, hitting .460 on the year with four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI's.
• Conference-wise, Klemp leads the conference in hits (23), runs (16) and runs per game (1.33), ranks second in hits per game (1.92), fourth in total bases (33) and fifth in batting average.
• Nationally, Klemp is 14th in hits per game and 18th in total hits.
• Among other conference leaders, Jacob Dobmeier is tied for first in the WCC in saves (two), Ben Patacsil is first in hit by pitch (six), Brock Gillis ranks third in total strikeouts (21) and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.06), Briley Knight is third in doubles (five) and Jake Holcroft has been the fifth hardest player in the WCC to strike out, with only one strikeout per 10.2 appearances.
• The Pilots have five qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .300: Klemp (.460), Knight (.340), Holcroft (.333), Tsukada (.324) and Tristan Gomes (.320).
• Knight earned a hit in 11 of the first 12 games this season, his longest career streak.
• On the mound, Brock Gillis and Ryan Rembisz each earned their first wins of the year for Portland this past weekend.
• Gillis was electric on Saturday, throwing 10 strikeouts over seven innings and allowing just four hits and one run. His 10 strikeouts are the most by any Pilot pitcher this season as well as a career high.
• 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 Niagara Purple Eagles are 4-3 heading into the series against the Pilots.
• They hit .247 as a team and have a 4.50 staff ERA.
• This is the first time the two teams have played each other.
• Rob McCoy is in his 15th year as head coach of the Purple Eagles.

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Schedule

Pilots Host Niagara for Four-Game Series