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PORTLAND PILOTS (13-19, 1-8 WCC)
vs. OREGON DUCKS (14-12, 4-5 PAC-12)
Date: Wednesday, April 13, 2016
First Pitch: 6 p.m.
Location: Hillsboro, Ore.
Ballpark: Ron Tonkin Field
Live Video: N/A
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: ORE leads 90-27
2016: ORE 10, POR 1 (April 6 @Oregon)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Wednesday • April 13 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Jordan Wilcox (4-2, 4.93)
ORE: RHP Matt Mercer (0-0, 8.22)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots play their second game of the season at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro when they host the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.
• Portland then returns to The Bluff to host the Pacific Tigers for a three-game West Coast Conference series, beginning on Friday night at 6 p.m.
• Friday night's game with the Tigers will be shown live on Comcast SportsNet Northwest.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots dropped a three-game series last weekend against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash.
• The Bulldogs easily won the first game and held on to win game two 3-0; the Pilots then took the lead twice during Sunday's finale, but twice the Bulldogs came back en route to a 14-5 win.
• Cooper Hummel belted his third homer of the year during the opener, and Geoffrey Lee went 4-for-5 with 2 runs scored on Sunday.
• Ryan Barr also extended his team season-best hitting streak to 10 games.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• On Thursday, March 31 the Pilots played the 600th game ever at Joe Etzel Field, which opened in 1989.
• The crowd of 1,092 for Portland's game with No. 3 Oregon State on Tuesday, March 22 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.
• The Pilots, who only stole 21 bases all of last season, currently have 54 stolen bases, which leads the conference and ranks 23rd in the nation.
• On March 5 the Pilots stole 10 bases against UC Riverside, which is a single-game high in the WCC this season.
• Michael Forgione is second in the league and 23rd in the nation with 17 stolen bases; Cody Hawken is a perfect 10-for-10 in steals.
• Portland has also already surpassed last year's win total of 12.
• Senior outfielder Ryan Barr is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak, which is a season best for the Pilots.
• Caleb Whalen, who is currently unavailable due to an injury, is fifth in the nation in doubles per game (0.52) and is 17th in total doubles (14), despite missing the past five games.
• Whalen 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.
• Cooper Hummel had a day on March 26 when the junior catcher went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI's and three runs scored during a 7-3 win over CSUN at Joe Etzel Field; the three doubles match the program's single-game record, and he becomes the first Pilot since Rocky Gale in 2010 to accomplish the feat.
• Hummel has reached base safely during 30 of UP's 32 games; he also walked four times during a game earlier this season (at Utah Valley, March 12).
• 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's currently batting a team-best .333.
• 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.
• Freshman Grant Sutton, who has missed the entire season recovering from an injury, homered in his first collegiate at-bat at Oregon on Wednesday, April 6.
• 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 (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.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Ducks, who spent a good chunk of the season in the national rankings, have won three of their last four games.
• Oregon is hitting .217 as a team, while the pitching staff boasts an ERA of 3.41 and is holding to the opposition to .230 batting average.
• Junior outfielder Austin Grebeck leads Oregon's regulars with a .295 batting average, while sophomore first baseman A.J. Balta has team-bests of six HR's and 22 RBI's.
• George Horton is in his eighth year as head coach at Oregon and he's led the Ducks to four straight NCAA post-season appearances.