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Live Stats PORTLAND PILOTS (11-8) vs. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (15-2)Dates: Tuesday, March 22, 2016
First Pitch: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field (1,300)
TV: CSN-NW (tape delayed until 8pm)
Live Online Video: TheW.tvLive Stats: PortlandPilots.comSeries: OSU leads 150-56-1
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL • The Portland Pilots welcome the No. 3 Oregon State Beavers to Joe Etzel Field on Tuesday night for a 6 p.m. game.
• The game between the two in-state rivals will be shown on taped-delay on Comcast SportsNet Northwest, with the broadcast beginning at 8 p.m.
• The match-up will be streamed live in its entirety online at TheW.tv.
• The Pilots then host CSUN, who has won 13 straight games and is receiving votes in the national polls, for a four-game series, beginning with a double header on Thursday at Joe Etzel Field.
• Friday's game vs. the Matadors will take place at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Ore., home of the Class A Hillsboro Hops.
• Saturday's series finale will be back on The Bluff.
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots took the opener 3-1 at LMU last Friday before succumbing 8-1 and 3-0 to drop the WCC series.
• In that opener, Jordan Wilcox allowed only one earned run on four hits in 8.0 innings, while striking out six.
• The Pilots scored twice in the ninth, sparked by a lead-off triple from Eric Sapp, and Caleb Whalen claimed the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly.
• On Sunday, the Pilots brought the potential game-tying run to the plate twice, but the Lions held on for the win.
ABOUT THE PILOTS • Caleb Whalen has reached base safely during 17 of 19 games this season and he is currently ranks sixth in the nation with 11 doubles.
• The senior outfielder is also tied for the most career triples in program history with 14 after claiming a three-bagger at UC Davis on Feb. 20; Whalen is tied with Larry Farrell (1958-61) and needs just one more triple to become the program leader.
• Whalen was named the WCC Position Player of the Week (Mar. 7) after hitting .462 to help lead the Pilots to a series win over UC Riverside; he also had three doubles, a home run, four runs scored and five RBI's.
• Senior closer Billy Sahlinger is also sixth in the nation with six saves, Whalen is eighth in sacrifice flies (4) and Jordan Wilcox ranks eighth in wins (4).
• As a team, the Pilots are seventh in the country with 42 stolen bases; Portland swiped just 21 bases all of last season.
• The Pilots are one win away from matching last year's win total of 12.
• On March 5 the Pilots stole 10 bases against UC Riverside, which is a single-game high in the WCC this season.
• Freshman Cody Hawken joined the list of Portland baseball players to hit two home runs in a game when he left the yard during his first two at-bats at Joe Etzel Field vs. Oakland on Feb. 26; Hawken became the first Pilot to accomplish the feat since Cody Lenahan last May, and no Portland player has ever hit three home runs in a game.
• Cooper Hummel, a career .168 hitter entering the season, got off to a stellar start to his junior campaign, hitting .500 during the month of February; he currently ranks third in the WCC with a .403 batting average and he posted a team and career-best eight-game hitting streak earlier this season.
• University of Portland Athletics Hall of Fame member Geoff Loomis is in his first season as head coach of the Pilots.
• Loomis spent the past 13 seasons at the helm of the Pacific Lutheran Lutes, where he compiled an impressive 327-197-2 (.624) record; he led the Lutes to 11 winning seasons during his tenure, including NCAA Regional appearances in 2007 and 2015 and Northwest Conference Championships in 2007, 2009 and 2015.
• Loomis, who starred on the diamond for the Pilots from 1990-92, still holds the program career record for batting average (.376) and he earned Pacific-10 North Division Player of the Year honors in 1992.
• Joining Loomis on the bench are first-year assistant coaches Gregg Swenson, Jake Valentine and Trey Watt.
• Swenson came to Portland after 10 years at Washington State, Valentine was at Santa Clara last season and Watt played for Loomis at Pacific Lutheran and was an assistant coach at George Fox for the past five years.
• Lights were installed at Joe Etzel Field during the off-season as the second phase of a planned three-phase project to upgrade Portland's home ballpark.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT • The Oregon State Beavers are coming off a three-game sweep of Arizona State and are ranked third in the country, having lost just two times all season.
• The Beavers are batting .330 as a team, which is seventh best in the country, are holding the opposition to a .221 batting average and boast a staff ERA of 3.29.
• Oregon State has eight players batter .300 or better, led by junior catcher Logan Ice (.442); Ice also has four home runs, four triples and 20 RBI's.
• Junior closer Max Engelbrekt leads the nation with eight saves.
• University of Portland Athletics Hall of Famer Pat Casey is in his 21st season as head coach at Oregon State and he's led the Beavers to two NCAA National Championships.
HOMES AWAY FROM HOME • The Pilots are playing three "home" games away from home this season, which includes a pair of games at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Ore., home to the Class A Hillsboro Hops.
• First the Pilots host CSUN in Hillsboro on Friday, March 25 at 7 p.m.; the Oregon Ducks then visit Ron Tonkin Field on Wednesday, April 13 at 6 p.m.
• Portland is then scheduled to host the Seattle Redhawks in Tacoma, Wash., at Cheney Stadium on April 20.
