PORTLAND PILOTS (4-16, 0-3 WCC)
WEEK 6 GAME NOTES
 
at SAINT MARY'S GAELS (14-6, 0-0 WCC)
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 24-26, 2017
Location: Moraga, Calif.
Ballpark: Louis Guisto Field (1,000)
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: SMCGaels.com
Series: SMC leads 52-29
2016: SMC 7-2, SMC 7-1, SMC 5-2 (May 20-22 at Portland)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • March 24 • 3 PM
POR: LHP Grady Miller (1-3, 3.54)
SMC: RHP Cameron Neff (0-0, 6.75)
 
Saturday • March 25 • 2 PM
POR: LHP Corbin Powers (0-2, 5.56)
SMC: RHP Jake Valdez (3-1, 2.33)
 
Sunday • March 26 • 1 PM
POR: TBA
SMC: LHP Johnny York (2-1, 4.67)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots embark on yet another road trip, this time traveling to Moraga, Calif., for a three-game West Coast Conference series with the Saint Mary's Gaels.
• Friday's opener is set for 3 p.m. at Louis Guisto Field, Saturday's game will begin at 2 p.m., and the Pilots and Gaels conclude the series with the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots won back-to-back games for the first time this season, defeating the Seattle Redhawks 6-3 and 5-3 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, at Joe Etzel Field.
• Devin Kopas went 3-for-4 with two RBI's during Tuesday's win, and Kevin Wade claimed the game-winning hit on Wednesday when he drove an RBI double into the gap in left-center to break a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning.
• Last weekend the No. 25 San Diego Toreros escaped with wins on Friday and Saturday at Fowler Park before taking Sunday's finale and the three-game WCC series.
• On Friday, Portland freshman starting pitcher Grady Miller was masterful, allowing just one run on three hits, while fanning nine in 7.1 innings.
• The Pilots scored a run in the top of the ninth to take a 2-1 lead, but USD opened the bottom of the frame with consecutive solo home runs to walk off with the win.
• In the top of the ninth inning on Saturday, the Pilots loaded the bases and scored one, but again the Toreros escaped with the victory, this time winning 2-1.
• USD claimed the finale 8-2.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Wednesday's game against Seattle was the 600th in the coaching career of Portland skipper Geoff Loomis; the UP alum and Athletics Hall of Fame member is in his second season at the helm of the Pilots after 13 seasons as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he led the Lutes to 11 winning seasons and two NCAA Regional appearances.
• Loomis (1990-92) still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376) and he earned Pacific-10 North Division Player of the Year honors in 1992.
• The two wins over Seattle are Portland's first consecutive wins of the season.
• Matt Kelly is riding a six-game hitting streak, which is one shy of the team season high of seven, accomplished by both Cody Hawken and Ryan Hoogerwerf.
• On Friday, March 9, freshman left-hander Grady Miller struck out 12 in 7.0 innings as the Pilots defeated Northwestern 5-2; the 12 K's are tied for the fourth most in a game ever for the Pilots, and it's the most strikeouts since Travis Radke fanned 14 in 2013.
• Miller K'd nine more in 7.1 innings in his next outing at San Diego (March 17), giving him 21 strikeouts during his last 14.1 innings; he ranks fifth in the WCC in strikeouts (32, 10.29 per 9.0 IP).
• The Pilots opened the season with 11 straight road games before finally playing at Joe Etzel Field on March 10; 15 of Portland's first 20 games are on the road.
• Statistically, senior Kevin Wade leads the Pilots in batting average (.310), while sophomore Cody Hawken has team-bests of three home runs and 12 RBI's.
• Sophomore shortstop Matt Kelly went 6-for-12 during the weekend against Northwestern, with a home run, two doubles, three RBI's and three runs scored.
• On Feb. 24 at CSU Bakersfield, Ryan Hoogerwerf and Hawken went back-to-back with home runs in the first inning.
• The new-look Pilots entered the season with 14 returning letterwinners, only two position starters and three starting pitchers.
• New to The Bluff is a sizable group of newcomers as the Pilots welcomed 20 new players to the program; that includes 12 freshmen, two redshirt-freshmen and six JC transfers.
• The crowd of 1,092 for Portland's game with No. 3 Oregon State on March 22, 2016, 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.
• On March 31 of last season, the Pilots played the 600th game ever at Joe Etzel Field, which opened in 1989.
• On May 10 in Keizer, Ore., the Pilots defeated the No. 24 Oregon State Beavers for Portland's first win over OSU since a 20-13 victory in Corvallis, back in 2006; OSU had won 25 straight against the Pilots.
• It was also Portland's first win over a ranked opponent since opening the 2014 campaign with a victory over No. 12 and reigning national champion UCLA in Los Angeles.
• The Pilots led the WCC last season with 71 stolen bases, which came after swiping only 21 the year before.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Gaels enter WCC play with a 14-6 record and are coming off a series win at CSUN.
• They're batting .271, are holding the opposition to a .268 average and claim a staff ERA of 3.94.
• Freshman Joe Vranesh has a team-best .313 batting average, junior Jackson Thoreson leads the squad with four homers, and Edward Haus has driven in a team-high 16 runs.
• Jake Valdez (3-1) is sixth in the WCC with a 2.33 ERA.
• Head coach Eric Valenzuela is in his fourth season at SMC, and he led the Gaels to the program's first ever WCC regular season title last year.