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Will Labonte throws a pitch against San Francisco.

Baseball

Pilot Baseball Returns Home to Host San Diego

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots are back at Joe Etzel Field for a crucial three-game WCC series against the San Diego Toreros. The series begins on Thursday, April 30 and runs through Saturday, May 1.
 
Games on Thursday and Friday are set to start at 6 p.m. while Saturday's contest begins at noon. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats and video options.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: San Diego Toreros (16-25, 8-10 WCC)
Date: Thurs-Sat, Apr. 30-May 2
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Against USD: 34-73
Last vs. USD: POR 4, @USD 5 ('25)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 W-L, ERA)
Thursday • April 30 • 6:00 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD
 
Friday • May 1 • 6:00 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD
 
Saturday • May 2 • 12:00 PM
POR: TBD
USD: TBD
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Portland Pilots are 23-18 overall and 9-9 in WCC play, with the Pilots dropping their midweek contest against the Washington Huskies and losing two of three games against the Santa Clara Broncos.
• Against the Huskies, the bats struggled, with Portland falling 8-1 at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreational Complex.
• Brady Bean and Cote had the lone hits for Portland, with Bean's double bringing home one run for Portland.
• Against the Broncos, the Pilots still struggled offensively but still eked out the extra-innings victory in the Sunday matchup. Their win on Sunday was their first game in extra innings this season.
• In that Sunday game, Kaden Segel and Alex Via provided an excellent one-two punch on the mound, with both pitchers combining for just one unearned run and four hits in 10 innings.
• Segel went 5.1 shutout innings while Via threw a career-high 4.2 innings to keep the Pilots in it until the end. Via officially earned the win, his first of his college career.
• Trey Swygart was the only Pilot to record a hit in every game against the Broncos, recording four hits with two doubles and three RBI's.
• Bean's three hits on Sunday were the most by any Pilot over the weekend. He had three doubles and three RBI's while batting .385.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots pitching staff has been solid this season, ranking first in the conference in ERA (4.03), WHIP (1.36), walks allowed per nine innings (3.60), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.25) and shutouts (3).
• Nationally, they rank 18th in ERA, 30th in shutouts, 28th in walks allowed per nine and 35th in WHIP.
• Offensively, their 194 walks are the most in the conference.
• The Pilots were the first team in the WCC to 20 wins this season and rank third in win percentage (.561).
• Will Labonte is second in the conference in ERA (2.50) and first among all WCC freshmen. He is 41st nationally – second among all freshmen – and has allowed the fewest amount of earned runs of any freshman with more than 55 innings thrown.
• Labonte is the only freshman to have an ERA under 3.00 with at least 55 innings thrown as well.
• No Pilot true freshman has thrown as many innings (57.2) as Labonte since Eli Morse in the 2018 season.
• Labonte is the only Pilot to have won multiple WCC Player of the Week honors, twice earning WCC Freshman of the Week.
• The Montreal native was named a College Baseball Hall of Fame 2026 National Pitcher of the Year semifinalist, becoming the first Pilot since 2022 to earn the honor. He was one of just two freshmen to make the list and one of two players from the WCC.
• Labonte isn't the only freshman impressing on the mound, with Alex Via's eight saves leading the WCC, ranking 19th nationally and also ranking among the most of any freshman nationally.
• Via's eight saves are already the most by any true freshman in program history and the most by any Pilot in two years.
• Via has also earned national recognition, becoming a semifinalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, which honors the top relief pitchers in the country. Via is the second Pilot in three years to make the list.
• Trey Newmann is sixth in the WCC in strikeouts (57) and is one of two Pilots with at least 50 K's on the year.
• Newmann is first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.07), fourth in strikeouts per nine (9.93) and sixth in walks allowed per nine (2.44).
• Kaden Segel also ranks high in those categories, coming second in walks allowed per nine (2.08) and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.45).
• Cole Katayama-Stall has been the top batter for the Pilots, hitting .303 with nine home runs, 33 RBI's and an OPS of 1.033.
• Katayama-Stall ranks among the best in the WCC in getting on base, posting 32 walks on the year and 0.78 walks per game to rank third and second respectively in the conference. His nine homers are tied for fifth in the conference and his .583 slugging percentage ranks sixth.
• Amongst fellow Pilots, Katayama-Stall's 18 homers in two seasons cracks the top 20 all-time. The last Pilot to hit at least 18 homers in his first two seasons was Zach Toglia (2023-24).
• Cody Nitowitz is the only other Pilot batting .300, hitting the mark exactly, and is tied with Katayama-Stall in both walks (32) and walks per game (0.78).
• Nitowitz has been walked 17 times in conference play, good for first in the WCC. Katayama-Stall is right behind with 15, good for second.
• Brady Bean and Jonas Salk have 22 and 24 home runs for their careers respectively, with 20 of Bean's homers coming with the Pilots. Bean ranks tied for 15th all-time while Salk is tied for ninth all-time.
• Bean's 112 RBI's ranks 11th all-time for Portland as well.
• Salk is also fourth all-time for Portland in hit by pitch, having been beaned by 43 pitches in his career, and is 13th in RBI's at 108.
• Trey Swygart was named John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year semifinalist, becoming the only Pilot in program history to do so.
 
LAST SEASON FOR THE BLUFF BOYS
• The Portland Pilots finished last season 22-30 overall and 13-11 in WCC play to take fifth in the WCC.
• Portland earned 20-plus wins for the fifth season in a row and for the seventh time in the last eight season. It's the first time they've earned at least 20 wins five seasons in a row since a stretch between 2008-12.
• Last year, the Pilots made qualified for the WCC Tournament for the fourth year in a row after previously having never made the tournament. They fell to the LMU Lions in their lone game in the tournament.
• Six players earned All-WCC honors last season, with four of those six player returning this season.
• The Pilots saw six earn All-WCC honors, headlined by Jonas Salk's All-WCC First Team selection. Tyler Howard earned second team honors, Brady Bean, Cody Nitowitz and Ryan Rembisz earned honorable mention and Nitowitz and Trey Swygart made the freshman team.
• Salk makes it seven straight seasons the Pilots have had someone make the All-WCC First Team. This was his first All-WCC selection.
• Jonas Salk's 13 home runs were the most by a Pilot since 2008. Salk is the first Pilot since Matt Scales 1992 to have at least three multi-home run games in a season.
• Salk's .807 slugging percentage ranked first against conference opponents. He was also third in home runs (ninth) and OPS (1.287), fourth in doubles (nine) and runs scored (26) and eighth in batting average (.373).
•Brady Bean was the only Pilot to have played every game. He ranked ninth in the WCC in hits (64) and tied for third in at bats (206).
• Bean's 48 RBI's ranks seventh in the WCC. They are tied for the 11th most in program history, and he's just the fifth Pilot in the 2000s to reach that total.
• Tyler Howard was second in the WCC in batting average (.379) and on-base percentage (.481) and ranked sixth in total walks (29). Howard put together a 32-game on-base streak that was the longest by a Pilot since 1993.
• Cody Nitowitz was tied for eighth in the WCC in batting average against conference opponents at .373, sixth in on-base percentage (.490) and tied for first in walks (18).
• Trey Swygart was a two-way player for the Pilots last season, displaying power at the plate and prowess on the mound.
• Swygart, a 2025 Perfect Game Freshman All-American, posted a slash line of .342/.500/.644 in 73 at bats last year, along with six home runs and four doubles. He was 0-3 on the mound last season with a 6.97 ERA and two saves, one of just two Pilots with multiple.
• As a team, the Pilots led the conference in walks (257), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.05), WHIP (1.52), shutouts (3) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.75). Nationally, they were 38th in double plays per game (0.83) and 46th in walks allowed per nine innings.
 
THE COACHING STAFF
• 2026 marks the 11th year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 256 career wins as Portland's skipper, Loomis already ranks fourth all-time for total wins at Portland. He is also just the fourth Pilot coach to reach 250 wins.
• 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).
• Trey Watt was promoted to associate head coach following the 2024 season and takes over as pitching coach.
• Watt was a pitcher under Loomis at Pacific Lutheran, becoming the second Lute to ever sign a free agent contract.
• Jarvis Gomes returns as the Director for Player Development for his fifth year and Ben Patacsil joining as an assistant coach after spending last season as a graduate assistant.
• Holcroft is Portland's all-time leader in games played (227), hits (319), at bats (941), runs scored (193), doubles (57), walks (112) and total bases (448). He's also third all-time in RBI's (161), tied for fifth in stolen bases (53), sixth in batting average (.339), tied for sixth in triples (eight), tied for eighth in home runs (eight).
• Holcroft earned All-WCC First Team honors last season for the third year in a row and was also named the 2024 WCC Tournament MVP.
• Patacsil thrice earned All-WCC honors, making the first team in his final season in 2024. He led the WCC in batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.464) and hit .524 against WCC opponents specifically, over 100 points higher than the next closest player.
 
ABOUT THE TOREROS
• The San Diego Toreros are 16-25 on the year and 8-10 in WCC play, dropping their series against the Saint Mary's Gaels most recently.
• Last season, the Toreros went 28-30 overall but 19-5 in WCC play to take first in the conference for the second season in a row. They lost in the 2025 WCC Tournament Championship to the Saint Mary's Gaels to just miss out on postseason play.
• The Pilots were swept by the Toreros last season in San Diego.
• The Toreros were picked to repeat as champions in the 2026 WCC Preseason Poll, with Isaiah Lane and Jayden Lobliner making the All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Lane is not with the Toreros this season while Lobliner has hit .297 with a team-high eight home runs and 30 RBI's. He's one of two players on the Toreros with at least 30 RBI's.
• Brock Ungricht is in his fifth season as head coach of the Toreros, posting a 146-115-1 record in that stretch.
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