May 14-16, 2010 • San Francisco, Calif. • Benedetti Diamond (1,000)
Series: USF leads 44-22 • Live Video/Audio/Stats: USFDons.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, May 14 • 3:00 p.m.
POR - Kyle Kraus (R, So., 9-1, 3.41)*
USF - Doug Murray (R, Sr., 7-5, 3.34)
Saturday, May 15 • 1:00 p.m.
POR - Zach Varce (R, Jr., 5-2, 3.45)
USF - Matt Lujan (L, Jr., 6-4, 4.21)
Sunday, May 16 • 1:00 p.m.
POR - Owen Jones (R, So., 4-2, 2.38)
USF - Jordan Remer (L, So., 1-2, 2.52)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (31-13, 11-4 West Coast Conference) enter the stretch run of the regular season with a road trip to the Bay Area for a three-game WCC series against the San Francisco Dons (24-24, 7-7 WCC) this weekend at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco. Friday’s series opener is set for 3:00 p.m., while first pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
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A Brief Look Back
The Pilots, who had entered last weekend riding an 11-game winning streak, dropped three straight to the San Diego Toreros at Joe Etzel Field. On Friday, USD’s Kyle Blair was dominant, taking a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth inning. Then with two outs and a 1-2 count, UP’s Kris Kauppila doubled down the right-field line. Blair settled for a one-hit, 2-0 shutout. Portland’s Kyle Kraus pitched a gem as well, striking out 10 in 8.1 innings of work. Saturday was more of the same as Sammy Solis took over where Blair left off. Solis went the distance for a 5-1 win, allowing just five hits. He struck out 10 and didn’t walk a batter. Austin Pearce provided Portland’s offense with a solo home run in the eighth. The Toreros then won the series finale on Sunday 9-2. UP got solo home runs from Rocky Gale and Craig Smith. Gale’s homer tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Then on Tuesday, a red-hot Washington State team came to Joe Etzel Field and handed the Pilots a 6-5 loss. Wazzu used three home runs to help overcome a 4-3 deficit. C.J. Cullen and Riley Henricks homered for the Pilots, with Cullen’s making it a one-run ballgame heading to the ninth.
About San Francisco
The Dons won two of three against the Santa Clara Broncos on the road last weekend. USF won 13-5 and 11-5 before dropping the finale 12-6. USF is batting .283 as a team with junior INF Stephen Yarrow leading the way with a .322 mark. Yarrow leads the WCC with 14 home runs and he’s driven in 42 RBI’s. Senior INF Derek Poppert’s 18 doubles are tied for the league-high. The Dons have a staff ERA of 5.21 and are allowing opposing hitters to bat .288. Senior RHP Doug Murray is 7-5 with a with a 3.34 ERA, while junior LHP Matt Lujan is 6-4 with an ERA of 4.21. Nino Giarratano, who has more than 300 career wins, is in his 12th season as head coach of the Dons. USF was 28-28 overall last year and tied for third in the WCC with a 12-9 league mark. 28 letterwinners returned.
Pilots/Dons Series
San Francisco took two of three from the Pilots in Portland last year and lead the all-time series 44-22. UP is 7-26 all-time against the Dons in San Francisco.
A Look Ahead
Portland follows its trip to Northern California with its last remaining home game of the season. On Tuesday, May 18, the Pilots welcome the Oregon Ducks to Joe Etzel field for a non-conference game at 3:00 p.m. The Pilots then play their final four games on the road, beginning with a tilt at Washington State in Pullman, Wash., on Wednesday, May 26. The Pilots will stay in Eastern Washington for its regular season-ending three-game WCC series against Gonzaga in Spokane. UP and GU are set to begin the series on Friday, May 28.
Co-Pilots
C.J. Cullen and Chris Dennis were named the WCC Co-Player and Co-Pitcher of the Month, respectively, following a superb April. The Pilots were 13-3 overall during April, while Cullen hit .429 and Dennis went 2-0 with six saves. Cullen, who was named the WCC’s Player of the Week on April 26, was 27-for-63 with 17 RBI’s, 18 runs, a homer, a triple and two doubles. Cullen was clutch as he hit .529 with runners in scoring position, batted .444 with two outs and drove in eight runs with two outs. He also committed only one error in 155 chances for an impressive fielding percentage of .994. Dennis, who earned the league’s pitcher of the week (April 26) honor the same week as Cullen, struck out 14 in 13.0 innings, posted an ERA of 2.08 and became Portland’s all-time career saves leader, while setting a new mark for most saves in a season. Dennis, a native of Bothell, Wash., was also named the regional pitcher of the week after saving four straight Portland wins (April 20-25).
Both Cullen and Dennis earned the conference player and pitcher of the week honors after the Pilots ended an eight-game losing streak to Washington and swept a three-game series at Pepperdine, where Portland was previously 1-31 all-time.
Making History
Portland is enjoying one of its finest seasons in program history. At 31-13, the Pilots have won the most games since Portland also won 31 during the 1991 season. It’s also the fifth 30-win season in program history. The Pilots are quickly approaching the program record for wins in a season, which was accomplished in 1980 when UP went 36-12. UP has also assured itself of its first winning season since going 26-23-1 in 1992.
Portland is an unprecedented 11-4 in the WCC. The 11 league wins are the most WCC wins since tallying 16 in 2002, when the Pilots played a 30-game league schedule.
The Pilots recently won 11 straight games to match the program’s second longest winning streak, which also occurred in 1980. The 1958 team set the program record with 14 straight victories. UP also won eight straight earlier this season.
Portland’s three-game sweep at Santa Clara (April 1-3) was the first WCC road sweep ever recorded by the Pilots and it was the first sweep of a conference foe since taking three from Pepperdine at home in 2002. The Pilots are also fresh off a three-game sweep over Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., where UP was previously 1-31.
Portland’s 10-2 start to the season matched the best recorded start to a season in program history. The 1958 Pilots also went 10-2.
Taking Notice
Portland’s success has not gone un-noticed as the Pilots entered the rankings this season for the first time since 1980.The Pilots were in polls for two weeks, reaching No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. UP also received votes in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ and the NCBWA Polls and are still receiving six votes in the coaches’ poll. The Pilots were last in the rankings when they were No. 30 in Collegiate Baseball’s final poll of the 1980 season.
Dennis the Menace
Junior transfer Chris Dennis, a right-handed reliever, is proving to be quite menacing for opposing hitters during his first season as a Pilot. Dennis, a native of Bothell, Wash., who transferred to UP from Edmonds CC last summer, has stepped into the closer role for the Pilots and has already registered a league-best and now program-best 13 saves, which is tied for the most in the nation. He’s also 4-0, has miniscule ERA of 1.24 and is holding opposing hitters to a .203 batting average. He has 42 K’s in 36.1 innings, for an average of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
With a save against Pepperdine on April 25, Dennis topped John Nichols’ previous program record of 11 career saves. The 13 saves are also a new single-season record at UP.
He was named the WCC’s Pitcher of the Week (April 26) and College Baseball Insider’s Regional Pitcher of the Week after saving all four of Portland’s wins during the previous week.
Leaving on a High Note
Portland senior C.J. Cullen is making the most of his final season on The Bluff, hitting a robust .350 at the plate, which leads the team and ranks eighth in the WCC. Cullen, who began his career as a shortstop and mostly saw action as a pinch runner during his junior campaign, became Portland’s starting first baseman this year and he’s taken his game to a new level. A career .195 hitter entering the season, Cullen has exploded at the plate with 32 RBI’s, 34 runs, five doubles, a triple and four home runs, one of which was a walk-off, three-run blast to give UP a 7-5 win over Seattle on Feb. 28. He’s also been clutch as 17 of his RBI’s have come with two outs.
Cullen, who has three four-hit games this spring, was the named WCC Player of the Week (April 26) after going 10-for-16 (.625) at the plate with a home run, a triple, six RBI’s and four runs scored as the Pilots won at Washington and swept Pepperdine in Malibu.
The Catcher Can Hit Too
Portland sophomore C/DH Beau Fraser, who had a string of eight consecutive at-bats with a hit earlier this season, has been the team’s most consistent hitter this season and he currently leads the Pilots in a plethora of categories. Fraser, who was named the WCC’s Player of the Week on April 19, is ninth in the league with a .345 batting average and he leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games, four four-RBI games, six home runs, 43 RBI’s and a .398 on-base percentage. He’s fourth in the league in RBI’s.
The Catcher Can Hit Too, Take Two
Senior C Rocky Gale, most known for his work behind the plate, has been on an absolute tear at the plate lately and has raised his season average to .336. Gale, who was a career .239 hitter entering the season and batted just .194 last year, went 8-for-10 with three RBI’s and five runs scored during the three-game sweep of LMU (April 16-18). Against the Lions on Sunday, April 18, he had his first career five-game hit, which included three doubles. Gale is batting .405 during WCC games.
Meanwhile it’s been business as usual behind the plate for Gale, who has thrown out a staggering 16 of 19 attempted base stealers this season, for a ridiculous percentage of .842.
K Kraus
Sophomore right-handed starter Kyle Kraus, Portland’s Friday starter as a freshman a year ago, has flourished and then some in his new role as the team’s Saturday starter. Kraus 9-1 and is on the verge of setting a program record for most wins in a season. Ted Devore currently holds the record with 10 W’s, which was set in 1989. Kraus, a native of West Linn, Ore., easily leads the league in wins and is tied for the third most victories in the country. His 3.41 ERA ranks seventh in the WCC, he has two complete games, is holding opposing hitters to a .253 batting average and recently went 20.2 innings without issuing a walk.
During a win at home against Southern Utah on March 26, Kraus became the second UP pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts during a game. The 14 strikeouts are tied for the second most by a single pitcher during a game in program history. Two pitchers have previously registered 16 K’s, most recently in 1970.
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
Zach Varce and Chris Dennis recently combined in what will go down as one of the best pitching performances in program history. During a 2-1, 10-inning win over Seattle at Joe Etzel Field on Feb. 27, the starter and the reliever combined to strikeout a program record 19 batters.
Varce, who was named the WCC’s Co-Pitcher of the Week following the performance, struck out 14 during 8.0 innings of work. The right-handed Varce, who didn’t factor into the decision, retired the final 18 hitters he faced in order, including striking out the final six. Dennis, also a righty, spelled Varce to begin the ninth inning and promptly struck out five of the seven hitters he faced.
The previous program record of 16 K’s had been accomplished three times, most recently in 1990.
Zac-K Varce
Varce hasn’t slowed down since that 14-strikeout performance as he is currently fourth in the WCC and 26th nationally in strikeouts with 93. He’s averaging 10.7 K’s per game, while also posting a 5-2 record and a 3.45 ERA, good for eighth in the conference. The junior is tied for eighth in the league in wins.
Varce was named to the initial watch list for the sixth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, after saving nine games last season.
Kings of the Hill
Portland is once again getting solid production from its pitching staff as the Pilots currently rank first in the WCC and sixth in the country with a staff ERA of 3.35, while also ranking second the league in opponents batting average (.256). Sophomore Kyle Kraus leads the conference with a 9-1 record, junior Chris Dennis easily leads the league and is tied for first nationally with 13 saves and junior Zach Varce is fourth in the WCC with 93 strikeouts. Dennis has been nearly unhittable and would league the lead in both ERA (1.24) and opponents batting average (.203) if he had enough innings to qualify. Sophomore Owen Jones is also enjoying a solid year after missing last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His 2.38 ERA is second in the WCC and his opponents batting average of .253 is tied for fifth. Jones is also 4-2, while Dennis is 4-0. Portland is a allowing just 8.7 hits per game, which ranks 17th nationally.
Kraus, who has tossed two complete-game wins, notched 14 strikeouts against Southern Utah on March 28. Varce did the same against Seattle on Feb. 28, while combining with Dennis to fan a program-high 19 Redhawks total.
Pilots Own the Base Paths
Portland’s opponents this season have attempted to steal a base just 28 times and UP’s starter behind the plate is a major reason why. Senior catcher Rocky Gale has led the WCC all three of his seasons on The Bluff in throwing out would-be base stealers. As a junior last year, Gale gunned down 25 would-be base stealers and he threw out a staggering 41% of attempted base stealers overall. This season, Gale has thrown out a eye-popping 16 of 19 attempted base stealers.
Meanwhile, the Pilots have stolen 30 bases, while allowing just eight. Junior OF Craig Smith leads the team and is fifth in the WCC with 10 steals.
WCC Pre-Season Poll
Portland’s middle infield tandem of junior 2B Riley Henricks and sophomore SS Kris Kauppila was selected to the 2010 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team and San Diego was picked as the favorite to win this year’s WCC regular season title in the preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Pilots were selected to finish eighth.
