PORTLAND, Ore. – A late home run from Cody Nitowitz helped the Portland Pilots close out the weekend with a series victory on Saturday, with the Pilots beating the San Diego Toreros 9-5 in Game 3. The win puts Portland at 25-19 overall and 11-10 in WCC play.
Nitowitz was just one triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a home run and a double along with four RBI's. The homer was his first ever collegiate bomb. Leo Cote and Jonas Salk were the two other Pilots to record multiple hits on the day, going 2-for-3 and 2-for-4 respectively, and freshman catcher Dakota Chun hit his third homer, a three-run homer.
Kaden Segel earned the win in relief, going three innings and allowing just one run and one hit with a strikeout. Trey Newmann started for Portland, going 4.1 innings with four runs allowed and five strikeouts. Alex Via earned his ninth save as a Pilot, going 1.2 innings with no runs and one hit allowed as well as a strikeout.
How it Happened
The Pilots and Toreros both scored runs in the first inning, then the Pilots took the lead with four runs across the next two innings. Nitowitz brought home a run with a double in the second, then Chun mashed a three-run bomb in the third to make it 5-1 Portland through three innings.
San Diego tied it up with three runs in the fourth and another in the sixth, evening the game at five a piece. Nitowitz broke that tie with his three-run bomb in the seventh, the first home run of his collegiate career. That home run made it 8-5 Portland. The Pilots scored one more run on a sacrifice fly from Brady Bean to make it 9-5 Pilots, earning the win.
Game Notes
- Nitowitz led the Pilots with a 3-for-3 outing, reaching base five times and adding four RBI's with a homer.
- Nitowitz's homer was the first of his career.
- Cote went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Salk was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
- Cote hit .636 over the weekend with two home runs and five RBI's.
- Chun hit a three-run homer for his third career home run.
- With his RBI today, Brady Bean is now tied for 10th all-time for Portland in runners batted in.
- The Pilots hit six home runs over the weekend. They have 40 home runs on the season now.
- Segel earned the win after going three innings in relief with just one run allowed and one hit.
- Via earned his ninth save of the year. It's the most ever by a Pilot true freshman.
- This is the fourth series win for the Pilots in conference play.
- This is the 17th win for the Pilots at home.
Up Next
The Pilots are headed off to Hillsboro for their neutral site matchup against the No. 6 Oregon State Beavers. The two teams play on Tuesday, May 5 at 6 p.m. at Hillsboro Ballpark. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
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