Skip To Main Content

University of Portland Athletics

Schedule

Trey Swygart takes a hack at the plate against Saint Mary's.

Baseball

Pilots Host No. 21 Ducks at Joe Etzel Field Wednesday

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots return to Joe Etzel Field to host the No. 21 Oregon Ducks this Wednesday, Apr. 8 for the second time this season. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+. Check PortlandPilots.com for tickets, live stats and video options.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: #21 Oregon Ducks (24-8, 8-4 Big Ten)
Date: Wednesday, April 8
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Against UO: 37-100
Last vs. UO: POR 3, @UO 0 ('26)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2025 W-L, ERA)
Wednesday • April 8 • 5 PM
POR: TBA
UO: TBA
 
LAST WEEK FOR THE PILOTS
• The Pilots split their four games last week, defeating the then-No. 15 Oregon Ducks in a midweek contest before dropping two of three against the Redhawks. They are 19-10 now on the year and 6-3 in WCC play.
• Against the Ducks, the Pilots earned their first shutout of the season, winning 3-0 at PK Park. It's their first shutout against the Ducks since 2009 as well.
• The win is the third straight for the Pilots against the Ducks, the third straight on the road against Oregon and the second win against a ranked opponent this year. Portland's won five of the last six games against the Ducks.
• It was a full staff effort from the Pilots on the mound, with Aaron Louis ultimately earning the win. He went four innings with no runs or hits allowed, five walks and three strikeouts for his second victory.
• Alex Via earned the save, going 1.2 innings with a strikeout and no runs, hits or walks allowed to earn his sixth save of the year. His six saves are the most ever by a Pilot true freshman.
• Logan Anderson started for Portland, giving him seven starts on the season, tied for the most in the WCC and ranking ninth nationally.
• Brady Bean and Jonas Salk each hit homers in the game in 1-for-4 outings. It's the fifth home run for Bean, matching the team high, and the fourth for Salk.
• Against the Redhawks, the Pilots dropped games on Thursday and Friday before shutting out Seattle U on Saturday. The shutout win was their second shutout of the season.
• Will Labonte was the starter for the Pilots on Saturday, matching a career high with six innings thrown. He allowed no runs and just two hits while punching out six batters.
• Labonte has allowed no runs in four outings this year, with all of those outings seeing him throw four innings or more.
• Labonte's stellar showing saw him earn WCC Freshman of the Week honors for the second week in a row. He's the only Pilot to earn multiple weekly honors this season.
• Cole Katayama-Stall continued his hot hitting over the week, batting .429 and belting two homers against the Redhawks. He's now hit a team-high seven home runs this season.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots' pitching staff has been lights out, ranking first in the conference in ERA (3.08), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.24), WHIP (1.26), hits allowed per nine innings (7.65) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.68). They are also second in shutouts with two.
• Portland ranks high nationally in numerous categories as well, ranking third in ERA, 24th in WHIP, 29th in hits allowed per nine, 37th in walks allowed per nine and 41st in shutouts.
• The Pilots also boast the highest win-loss percentage in the conference at .655.
• Will Labonte leads the way in ERA, with his 1.70 average leading the conference and ranking 20th nationally. He is second among all freshman nationally.
• Labonte isn't the only freshman impressing on the mound, with Alex Via's seven saves leading the WCC and ranking fifth nationally. His save total is the most by any freshman in the nation.
• Via's seven saves are already the most by any true freshman in program history and the most by any Pilot in two years.
• Trey Newmann also ranks well among WCC players, with his 4.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranking third in the WCC and his 2.27 walks allowed per nine average ranking fourth.
• Carter Gaston's four wins are tied for second in the conference and are the most on the Pilots. Gaston's also posted a 1.42 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched this year.
• Offensively, Cole Katayama-Stall's .312 average leads the Pilots as well as his .613 slugging percentage, .426 on-base percentage. That slugging percentage ranks fifth in the WCC.
• Katayama-Stall is also tied for fifth in home runs at seven, with his four home runs in WCC play alone ranking second in the conference. In conference play, he's also fifth in slugging (.833), tied for sixth in batting average (.400) and ninth in OBP (.400).
• Brady Bean and Jonas Salk have 22 home runs for their career, with 20 of Bean's home runs coming with the Pilots. Bean ranks 16th all-time for Portland and Salk 12th in home runs.
• Salk is also fourth all-time for Portland in hit by pitch, having been beaned by 41 pitches in his career.
• Labonte has been named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List as well as earning Perfect Game Midseason Freshman All-American honors, making the second team.
• Trey Swygart was named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Watch List for the second year in a row, 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 252 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 DUCKS
• The No. 21 Oregon Ducks are 24-8 on the year and 8-4 in Big Ten play, most recently dropping two of three games against the Michigan Wolverines.
• Last season, the Ducks went 42-16 overall and 22-8 in the Big Ten, hosting a regional in Eugene. They lost their first two games in the regional.
• The Pilots beat the Ducks in both contests last season, sweeping the Ducks for the first time since 2019, and then shut out the Ducks earlier this season. It was the first time the Pilots had shut out the Ducks since 2009.
• Oregon was picked to finish second in the Big Ten, with Ryan Cooney, Maddox Molony and Cal Scolari all making the Big Ten Preseason Watch List.
• Cooney is hitting .362 on the year with a team-high 12 doubles and 11 stolen bases.
• Moloney his hitting .260 with five home runs and 17 RBI's. The top batter this season has been Drew Smith, who's hitting .385 with nine home runs and 34 RBI's.
• Scolari has thrown in seven games, posting a 2.81 ERA in 32 innings along with 46 strikeouts.
• Mark Wasikowski has led the Ducks in eight seasons, posting a 231-115 record in those eight years. 
Get Your Tickets Now!
Secure your spot now for any upcoming Portland Pilots ticketed home event by visiting PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by downloading the Portland Pilots App.  For group and fan experience package information, email pilotsboxoffice@up.edu.

Donate Today 
Fans interested in making a contribution to University of Portland Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift helps our over 300 student-athletes compete at the highest level – on and off the field - in the rapidly changing world of intercollegiate athletics. All gifts to Pilot Athletics are 100% tax deductible.

Follow Along With the Action
Get the latest news and information about your favorite University of Portland athletic programs by visiting PortlandPilots.com. You can also follow along for the most dynamic coverage and team-centric content by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, and following us on Instagram.
Print Friendly Version
Skip Ad

Sponsors