PORTLAND PILOTS (17-10)
WEEK 8 GAME NOTES

@ Oregon Ducks
(18-7)
Date: Tuesday, April 4 
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Ballpark: PK Park
Video: Pac-12.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: UO Leads 98-32-0
Last: @POR 4, UO 5 (4/19/22) 

PROBABLE STARTERS (2023 W-L, ERA) 
Tuesday • April 4 • 5 PM
POR: TBD
UO: TBD

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots finish their stretch of nine road games against the Oregon Ducks.
• The two teams play on Tuesday, April 4 at 5 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats as well.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Portland returns home to host the LMU Lions in a three-game series.
• The two teams will play on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats as well.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The Pilots are 17-10 after most recently dropping their series on the road against the Saint Mary's Gaels.
• Portland dropped the first two contests but bounced back on Sunday with a comeback victory. The Pilots scored six runs in the ninth inning on Sunday to produce the win.
• Despite dropping their first WCC series, the Pilots still sit atop the WCC standings with a 7-2 record in conference.
• The top batters from the weekend were Henry Muench, Jake Holcroft and Zach Toglia, who batted .333, .308 and .300 respectively.
• Muench extended his hitting streak to four this weekend, the second longest on the team. He is batting a career-best .343 on the year, third on the team.
• Holcroft hit a home run in the first at-bat of the series on Friday, his fifth of the year. That's a career high for the outfielder.
• Along with that, Holcroft's four hits on the weekend were just enough to move him into 13th all-time for the Pilots in career hits at 198.
• Portland currently leads the WCC in batting average (.301), doubles (61), total hits (285), on-base percentage (.395), total runs (203), runs per game (7.5) and slugging percentage (.469).
• Nich Klemp is having a career year at the plate, hitting .380 to rank fifth in the conference.
• Klemp is also currently second in doubles (10) and doubles per game (0.40) and fifth in hits (38) and hits per game (1.52).
• Jake Holcroft has also  been solid at the plate, batting .370 and ranking second in the WCC in total hits (43). He is fourth as well in hits per game (1.59) and has been the second toughest player in the WCC to strike out, doing so just once every 11.6 at-bats.
• Holcroft and Klemp are both high on the career batting average list for the Pilots. Holcroft ranks fifth at .340 while Klemp is 11th at .321. Holcroft is fourth among Pilots with over 500 career at-bats.
• Among conference leaders, Brock Gillis and Peter Allegro are tied for third in total strikeouts (44) and Allegro is third in strikeouts per nine innings (11.10). Jacob Dobmeier is first in saves and 25th nationally (5) and Ben Patacsil is first in hit by pitch and 11th nationally (13).
• The Pilots have five qualified batters (at least 2 PA/G and 75% of games played) batting over .300: Klemp (.380), Holcroft (.371), Muench (.343), Jake Tsukada (.309) and Ben Patacsil (.300). Briley Knight is just under .300 at .299.
• On the mound last weekend, Peter Allegro once again was the standout starter after another solid appearance.
• Allegro went seven innings with only two runs, four hits and two walks allowed along with seven strikeouts. Over his last five games, he's posted a 2.09 ERA with 37 strikeouts.
• 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 Ducks are 18-7 on the season and 6-3 in Pac-12 play.
• They hit .301 as a team and have a 4.38 staff ERA.
• The Pilots dropped both contests against the Ducks last season.
• Mark Wasikowski is in his fourth season as head coach of the Ducks.