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The Pilots gather around head coach Geoff Loomis postgame.

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Pilots Resume WCC Action Against the Zags This Weekend

SPOKANE, Wash. – The Portland Pilots resume conference play with a trip back up to Washington, taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane. They'll play a three-game series starting on Friday, April 10 at 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
 
SERIES INFORMATION
Opponent: Gonzaga Bulldogs (17-14, 6-3 WCC)
Dates: Fri-Sun, April 10-12
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Ballpark: Patterson Baseball Complex/Steve Hertz Field
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Against GON: 85-144
Last vs. GON: @POR 4, GON 6 ('25)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2026 W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 10 • 6:00 PM
POR: RHP Trey Newmann (2-3, 4.54)
GON: RHP Justin Feld (3-0, 5.13)
 
Saturday • April 11 • 6:00 PM
POR: RHP Will Labonte (3-0, 1.70)
GON: RHP Karsten Sweum (3-1, 5.54)
 
Sunday • April 12 • 1:00 PM
POR: TBD
GON: TBD
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Pilots have split their last four games, dropping two of three to the Seattle U Redhawks before taking down the No. 21 Oregon Ducks on Wednesday.
• 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.
• The Pilots bounced back in a big way with their 13-9 victory over the Ducks, blasting two home runs late to take the victory.
• Portland's 13 runs came on 10 hits, with Katayama-Stall and Jonas Salk both homering. It was the eighth of the year for Katayama-Stall and the fifth for Salk.
• Salk had four RBI's on the day while Katayama-Stall had three. Salk now has 106 RBI's for his career, good for the 15th most in program history.
• Nitowitz posted a 2-for-4 day as well with three RBI's.
• The win over the Ducks was the fourth straight for Portland against Oregon and the sixth in the last seven contests. The Pilots swept the season series for the second year in a row.
• The Pilots also became the fastest WCC team to 20 wins this season and have now reached the total in eight of the last nine seasons. It's the first time they've posted six straight seasons of 20 wins or more since a stretch between 2007-12.
• Portland has earned three wins this year now against ranked opponents.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots' pitching staff has been lights out, ranking first in the conference in ERA (3.28), WHIP (1.29), hits allowed per nine innings (7.84) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.73). They are also second in shutouts with two and second as well in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.18)
• Portland ranks high nationally in numerous categories as well, ranking fourth in ERA, 28th in WHIP, 33rd in hits allowed per nine, 38th in walks allowed per nine and 41st in shutouts.
• The Pilots also boast the highest win-loss percentage in the conference at .667 and are the only team with 20 wins.
• Will Labonte leads the way in ERA, with his 1.70 average leading the conference and ranking 17th 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 .323 average leads the Pilots as well as his .646 slugging percentage, .446 on-base percentage and nine stolen bases. That slugging percentage ranks third in the WCC.
• Katayama-Stall is also tied for second in home runs at eight, 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).
• Amongst fellow Pilots, Katayama-Stall's 17 homers in two seasons cracks the top 30 after just two seasons. The last Pilot to hit at least 17 homers in his first two seasons was Zach Toglia (2023-24).
• 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, and 15th in RBI's at 106.
• 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 BULLDOGS
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are 17-14 on the year and tied for second in the conference with the Pilots at 6-3 in WCC play. They most recently took two games against the Washington Huskies and two of three against the Pepperdine Waves.
• Last season, they went 26-27 overall and 16-8 in WCC play. They took two of three games against the Pilots on their way to a second-place finish.
• This year, the Zags were picked second in the 2026 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, with Mikey Bell, Hudson Shupe, Erik Hoffberg and Finbar O'Brien all earning All-WCC Preseason Team honors.
• Bell and Shupe are batting .281 and .277 respectively this season, with Bell adding five homers. Bell was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year last year after hitting .436 in conference play with a 1.291 OPS.
• Hoffberg and O'Brien have eight appearances each on the mound, with Hoffberg posting a 2-3 record with a 6.06 ERA and O'Brien a 201 record with a 6.04 ERA.
• Mark Machtolf is in his 23rd year in charge of the Zags and 36th on staff. He's posted a 640-542 record over his 23 seasons as a head coach.
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