LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Portland Pilots lost their lead late int the eighth against the LMU Lions, ultimately falling 9-7. The Lions clinched the series with a win.

Kaden Segel (0-4) came out of the bullpen for Portland (24-17, 10-5) and took the loss. Segel entered in the eighth and gave up the three-run home run that gave the Lions the win. Sam Stuhr started on the mound for Portland, going six innings with five runs allowed, all earned, with six strikeouts and three walks.

The Pilots drove in seven runs on 12 hits Sunday, led by Tyler Howard. The catcher was 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI. Jake Holcroft and Ben Patacsil each had two hits and two RBI's on the day as well, with Holcroft adding a double. Christian Cooney had two doubles on the day, batting 2-for-4 with an RBI.

How it Happened

Trailing 1-0, the Pilots first put runs on the board in the third inning. Portland got on the board thanks to Cooney's RBI double with one out, tying things up at one run each.

The score stayed at 1-1 until the very next inning, when the Pilots put runs on the scoreboard once again. Portland picked up two runs in the frame, the big hit being an RBI double from Tyler Howard, which brought the score to 3-1 in favor of the Pilots.

Portland held LMU scoreless before expanding their lead to 4-1 the following inning. The Pilots pushed across a run on Holcroft's RBI double to push the Pilots' lead to three.

The Lions gained ground, closing the gap to 4-3 until Portland padded the lead back to two. The Pilots scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Patacsil, bringing the Portland advantage to 5-3.

LMU came back to tie the ballgame at five before the Pilots reclaimed a 7-5 advantage in the eighth inning. Holcroft's run-scoring single highlighted an inning where Portland scored twice.

Portland was set to hold the lead until LMU's charge in the bottom of the eighth. The Lions put two on before Christian Dicochea hit a three-run homer to give LMU an 8-7 lead. They added one more run in the frame, giving the Pilots just one more chance at reclaiming the lead. The Pilots came up just short, falling 9-7.

Game Notes
» Howard led the Pilots, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.
» Portland got multiple extra-base hits from both Cooney and Howard.
» Portland's highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Four Portland hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame. Ben Patacsil recorded multiple hits in every game this series, including a 2-for-3 day today.
» Portland left 10 runners stranded on base in the loss.
» Portland pitchers faced 41 Loyola Marymount hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and nine fly balls while striking out eight.
» The Pilots drew six walks from Loyola Marymount pitching.

Up Next

The Pilots host the San Francisco Dons this coming week at Joe Etzel Field in Portland. The three-game series begins on Thursday, May 2 with first pitch set for 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.

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