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PORTLAND PILOTS (11-9)
vs. CSUN MATADORS (18-3)
Dates: Thur-Sat, Mar. 24-26, 2016
Location: Portland/Hillsboro, Ore.
Ballparks: Joe Etzel Field (Thur. & Sat.)/Ron Tonkin Field (Fri.)
Live Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: CSUN leads 8-4-1
Last: POR 8-1 (7); CSUN 3-1; POR 2-1 (Mar. 16-18, 2012 @Concordia)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Thursday • March 24 • Game 1 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Jordan Wilcox (4-0, 1.76)
CSUN: RHP Angel Rodriguez (3-0, 1.27)
 
Thursday • March 24 • Game 2 • 6:30 PM
POR: LHP Jordan Horak (1-1, 4.66)
CSUN: RHP Rayne Raven (1-1, 3.00)
 
Friday • March 25 • @Hillsboro • 7 PM
POR: RHP Davis Tominaga (2-3, 4.40)
CSUN: LHP Kenny Rosenberg (3-0, 2.23)
 
Saturday • March 26 • 12 PM
POR: RHP Kevin Baker (0-2, 8.10)
CSUN: RHP Joe Ryan (0-0, 3.00)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots step out of conference this week to host the CSUN Matadors, beginning with a double header on Thursday at 3 p.m. 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, with first pitch slated for 12 p.m.
 
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.
• No. 3 Oregon State topped the Pilots 13-6 on The Bluff on Tuesday night in front of 1,092 fans, the largest crowd in Joe Etzel Field history.
• Whalen hit a 2-run homer in the loss, and Michael Forgione went 3-for-4 with two RBI's and two runs scored.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Tuesday's crowd of 1,092 for Portland's game with No. 3 Oregon State was the largest in Joe Etzel Field history; the attendance surpassed the previous best of 1,002, which was also against Oregon State back in 2007.
• Caleb Whalen has reached base safely during 18 of 20 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 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 43 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.
• UP Athletics Hall of Famer 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
• CSUN has won 13 straight games and is receiving votes in the national polls.
• Junior Fred Smith leads the team with a .415 batting average, while senior Branden Berry is hitting .343 with six homers and 20 RBI's.
• The Matadors staff ERA is 2.64 and opponents are batting just .222.
• Greg Moore is in his third season at the helm of the Matadors.