PORTLAND PILOTS (17-15, 7-5 WCC)
WEEK 9 GAME NOTES

at San Diego Toreros
(14-16-1, 7-5 WCC)
Date: Fri-Sun, April 14-16
Location: San Diego, Calif.
Ballpark: Fowler Park
Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: USD Leads 68-30-0
Last: POR 8, USD 22 (5/26/22)
 

PROBABLE STARTERS (2023 W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 14 • 6 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD

Saturday • April 15 • 5 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD

Sunday • April 16 • 1 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots hit the road for a WCC series against the San Diego Toreros.
• The two teams will play on Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.
 
NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland returns home for a showdown against the Oregon Ducks.
• The two teams will play on Tuesday, April 18 at 5 p.m. on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats as well.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 17-15 overall and 7-5 in WCC play after dropping their last five games, most recently falling to the Seattle U Redhawks on Tuesady.
• Portland was also swept by LMU last weekend, their first time being swept this year.
• Despite dropping the series, the Pilots are still third in the WCC and are tied with the Lions for the most overall wins in the conference.
• The top batters from the last week were Evan Scavotto and Riley McCarthy, who batted .385 and .333 respectively.
• McCarthy has put up multiple hits in back-to-back games after previously not having multiple hits in a game in his career. He went 2-for-4 against both the Lions and the Redhawks.
• Along with that, Jake Holcroft and Christian Cooney were the only two Pilots to go yard last week. Holcroft's home run was his sixth of the year while Cooney's was his first.
• Portland currently leads the WCC in batting average (.287), total hits (320), total runs (212) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.2).
• Holcroft has been solid at the plate, batting .350 and ranking second in the WCC in total hits (48). He is also third in hits per game (1.50), fourth in total bases (78) and eighth in batting average, and he also has been the second toughest player to strike out, doing so just once every 13.7 at-bats.
• Nich Klemp and Henry Muench are the other top batters for the Pilots, batting .342 on the year. Klemp is also currently second in doubles (11) and fourth in doubles per game (0.38).
• Holcroft also currently ranks fifth in program history batting average at .337 and also 12th in total runs scored (111), total hits (203) and and total bases (293). His batting average is third among Pilots with more than 600 at-bats.
• Among conference leaders, Peter Allegro is is first in strikeouts per nine innings (11.18), third in strikeouts (53) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.08). Jacob Dobmeier is also second in saves (5), Brock Gillis is fourth in strikeouts (48) and Joey Gartrell is sixth in WHIP (1.16).
• The Pilots have three qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .300: Holcroft (.350), Klemp (.342) and Henry Muench (.342).
• On the mound last weekend, Peter Allegro once again was the standout starter after another solid appearance.
• Allegro went seven innings with only three runs and nine hits allowed and nine strikeouts. He's had at least seven strikeouts in his last four outings.
• 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 160 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 San Diego Toreros are 14-16-1 on the season and 7-5 in WCC play.
• They hit .267 as a team and have a 5.84 staff ERA.
• The Toreros split their four games with the Pilots last year. They are currently tied with Portland for third in the WCC.
• Brock Ungricht is in his second season as head coach of the Toreros.

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