Complete Release (pdf)
Live Video: Game 1  I  Game 2  I  Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1  I  Game 2  I  Game 3
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (14-22, 1-11 WCC)
at PEPPERDINE WAVES (18-17, 8-7 WCC)
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 22-24, 2016
Location: Malibu, Calif.
Ballpark: Eddy D. Field Stadium
Online Video: TheW.tv
Live Stats: PepperdineSports.com
Series: PEPP leads 64-14
2015: PEPP 5-1, PEPP 9-5, PEPP 3-1 (11) - March 27-29 @POR
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 22 • 3 PM
POR: LHP Jordan Horak (1-4, 4.89)
PEPP: RHP AJ Puckett (6-2, 1.16)
 
Saturday • April 23 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Davis Tominaga (2-7, 4.15)
PEPP: RHP Chandler Blanchard (2-1, 3.23)
 
Sunday • April 24 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Jordan Wilcox (4-2, 4.62)
PEPP: LHP Easton Lucas (2-4, 5.73)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots navigate to Malibu, Calif., this weekend for a three-game West Coast Conference series against the Pepperdine Waves.
• Friday's opener is set for 3 p.m. at Eddy D. Field Stadium, while first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots scored four runs in the final three innings to claim a 4-3 comeback win over the Seattle Redhawks on Wednesday at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.
• Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Brady Kerr drove in Eric Sapp with the game-tying run, after the pair hit back-to-back doubles.
• Kerr, who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI's, would then eventually score the winning run on an RBI groundout by Grant Taylor.
• Previously the Pilots dropped a three-game WCC series to the Pacific Tigers at Joe Etzel Field; the Tigers won by scores of 3-0 on Friday, 10-6 on Saturday and 3-2 in 10 innings on Sunday.
• The Pilots out-hit the Tigers 29-26 on the weekend, and only four of Pacific's runs on Saturday night were earned.
• Portland recorded a season-high 15 hits Saturday, and Michael Forgione, Cooper Hummel, Kerr and Kevin Farley each had three hits.
 
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 60 stolen bases, which leads the conference and ranks 27th 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 29th in the nation with 19 stolen bases; Cody Hawken is a perfect 10-for-10 in steals.
• Portland has also already surpassed last year's win total of 12.
• Caleb Whalen, who is currently unavailable due to an injury, is fifth in the nation in doubles per game (0.52) and is 24th in total doubles (14), despite missing the past eight 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 33 of UP's 36 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 had 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 Waves are currently tied for fourth place in the WCC after taking two of three from LMU last weekend.
• Pepperdine is batting .257 as a team, while holding the opposition to a .260 average; their staff ERA is 4.74.
• Junior Manny Jefferson is hitting .306 with 28 RBI's and he's tied for the lead in the WCC with nine home runs; senior right-hander A.J. Puckett leads the league in ERA (1.16), opponents batting average (.181) and innings pitched (62.0).
• Steve Rodriguez, a member of Pepperdine's 1992 national championship team, is in his 13th year as head coach.