March 6-8, 2009 • Portland, Ore. • Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Series: POR leads 7-4
Live Audio/Stats: portlandpilots.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, March 6 - 2:00 p.m.
POR - Scott Burris (L, So., 2-0, 2.08)*
UCD - Jeremy McChesney (R, Sr., 0-2, 12.91)
Saturday, March 7 - 1:00 p.m.
POR - Matthew Lange (R, Sr., 0-1, 5.59)
UCD - Andy Suiter (L, Jr., 0-2, 12.71)
Sunday, March 8 - 11:30 a.m.
POR - Mark Triolo (R, Sr., 2-1, 4.41) or
Kyle Kraus (R, Fr., 0-1, 3.18)
UCD - Tom Briner (R, So., 0-0, 5.19)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (5-4) return home this week to host the UC Davis Aggies (2-5) for a three-game series at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots and Aggies open with a 2:00 p.m. game on Friday. Saturday’s tilt is set for 1:00 p.m., while the series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Catch All of the Action at Home Live
Portland will once again provide a free audio broadcast for all baseball home games this season on portlandpilots.com. Simply click on the ‘Multimedia” tab at the top of UP’s main athletics website, or visit the baseball schedule on portlandpilots.com to access audio for every Pilot home game in 2008. In addition, UP will provide live, in-game statistics for all home games, which can also be accessed on portlandpilots.com.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots went an even 3-3 during a six-game road trip though Utah. UP took one out of three from Brigham Young in Provo before winning two of three against Southern Utah in Cedar City. On Friday, Feb. 27, the Pilots bounced back from a series-opening 10-2 loss with an 8-3 win in ten innings over the Cougars. Senior Bryant Kraus went 3-for-4 and knocked in four runs. The outfielder belted a home run and smacked two doubles. Sophomore LHP Scott Burris improved to 2-0 in just his second collegiate start. Burris allowed three earned runs on just five hits. He struck out six in 6.0 innings. BYU took the finale 10-3 on Saturday.
UP and Southern Utah then split a double header on Monday. After coming up just short during an 8-7 series-opening loss, the Pilots won the second half of the double dip 11-8. UP scored four times during the last two innings to pick up the win. Portland sophomore Zach Varce worked the game’s final three innings to record his first win of the season. Varce held the Thunderbirds scoreless, while surrendering three hits and striking out five. Freshman SS Kris Kauppila, sophomore OF Craig Smith and senior 1B Cort Carpenter each had three of UP’s 18 hits.
In the series finale on Tuesday, Portland senior right-hander Mark Triolo tossed 8.0 scoreless innings and allowed just four hits as the Pilots won 3-0. Triolo struck out eight and walked just two.
About UC Davis
The Aggies two wins this season came against No. 12 Pepperdine and then-No. 12 UCLA. UC Davis’ last game was a 4-3 win over Pepperdine on Feb. 28. Senior IF Grant Hirneise hit a walk-off single to win it for the Aggies.
Sophomore OF Daniel Cepin and freshman utility player Eric Johnson are both batting a team-high .333 this season. Junior OF Kyle Mihaylo has the team’s only home run and Hirneise has knocked in a team-leading three runs. On the hill, senior right-hander Adam Bennett and freshman left-hander Dayne Quist, both relievers, are both 1-0 with ERA’s of 1.69 and 2.08, respectively.
Head coach Rex Peters is in his seventh season at the helm of the UC Davis baseball program. 15 letterwinners and three position starters returned from a team that was 35-24 last season. The Aggies finished sixth in the Big West Conference with a 13-11 league record.
The Pilots/Aggies Series
Portland owns a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series with UC Davis. Last season, the Pilots scored five runs during the final two innings to defeat the Aggies 11-10 in Davis, Calif. Then-senior Cory Wiltshire led Portland’s 15-hit attack with four hits and five RBI’s. This will be the Aggies first trip to Joe Etzel Field.
A Brief Look Ahead
There’s no rest for the Pilots who follow their three-game series against UC Davis at home with a trip to Fresno, Calif., for the Pepsi/Johnny Quick Classic, hosted by reigning national champion Fresno State. The Pilots are set to play the Bulldogs on Monday, March 9, before taking on Buffalo on Tuesday and Cal State Bakersfield on Wednesday. UP then battles FSU again on Thursday, Buffalo on Friday and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday.
Streaking
Senior OF Bryant Kraus, who led the Pilots last year with a .313 batting average, has picked up right where he left off last season. Kraus has a hit in every game this season and is batting .471 to lead the team once again. He also has team highs of 16 hits, two home runs, 11 RBI’s, 17 total bases, a .794 slugging percentage and a .561 on-base percentage. Kraus, who ended last season with hits during the final two games, has run his current hitting streak to a career-best 11 games. He has five multi-hit games so far this season and two games with three hits. During an 8-3 win at BYU on Feb. 27, Kraus went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI’s. The West Linn, Ore., native has three games this season with multiple RBI’s.
Leading Off
Freshman SS Kris Kauppila wasted little time getting acclimated to NCAA DI baseball, going yard in his first collegiate at-bat. After the Pilots retired the Utah Valley Wolverines in order in the top half of their season opener on Feb. 20, Kauppila led off the bottom half of the inning with a blast that hit the scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. The Glendale, Calif., native finished the weekend 5-for-11 (.455) with two RBI’s, a home run, a double and three runs scored as the Pilots took two of three from the Wolverines. He’s currently hitting .351 with two home runs and five RBI’s. He leads the squad with 13 runs and six doubles.
Not to be Out-Done
Portland’s other newcomers are making some noise this season as well. Sophomore transfer Craig Smith, an outfielder, has a hit in all eight games he’s played wearing a Pilot uniform. He’s batting .364 with three doubles, three RBI’s and six runs scored.
Freshman C/DH Beau Fraser has been raking at the plate and is second on the team with a .423 average. Fraser has three doubles and five RBI’s.
On the hill, sophomore Brent Miller has been masterful. He’s tied for the team-high with four appearances and has picked up two saves. Opposing hitters are batting just .118 against the right-hander and he has four strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Miller’s ERA is 3.60.
Meanwhile, freshman right-hander Kyle Kraus, who has made two appearances and one start, has an ERA of 3.18, while holding opposing hitters to a .255 average. He also has eight strikeouts in 11.1 innings of work.
King of the Hill
Sophomore LHP Scott Burris has flourished in his new roll as a starter, going 2-0 so far on the young season. In two starts, Burris has struck out 10 in 13.0 innings of work, while only allowing three earned runs for a staff-best ERA of 2.08. He’s also holding opposing hitters to a .186 average.
Last season, Burris tied for second on the team with 26 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He finished with two saves, a 1-3 record and an ERA of 4.36, while holding opposing hitters to a .260 average. He averaged 8.2 strikeouts and 1.9 walks per nine innings for a team-best strikeout-walk ratio of 4.3.
The Inaugural Rose City Invitational
The Portland Pilots will host the first ever Rose City Invitational at historic PGE Park in downtown Portland March 20-22. The three-day, eight-game event will feature the Pilots, Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and Hawaii Warriors.
Washington and Hawaii will face each other in the tournament’s first game on Friday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. The Pilots will follow with a game against Hawaii at 3:30 p.m. and a match-up with the Ducks at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s schedule begins with an Oregon-Washington tilt at 11:00 a.m. The Ducks then face Hawaii at 2:30 p.m. before the Pilots and Huskies conclude the day at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday features two more games (12:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.), which will be determined by the results of the first two days.
Single-day tickets, which will be honored for the entire day, are available for $10 for adults and $7 for youth (high school and younger) and UP students. Tournament-long tickets, which are good all three days, can be purchased for $20 for adults and $15 for youth and UP students.
Fans can purchase tickets at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, the UP box office or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
2009 WCC Preseason Poll
San Diego and Pepperdine were picked as favorites to win this year’s WCC regular season title in the 2009 preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Portland Pilots were selected to finish eighth. San Diego and Pepperdine both received 45 points, with the Toreros receiving four first place votes to three for the Waves. Gonzaga received the last remaining first place vote.