PORTLAND PILOTS (4-20, 0-6 WCC)
WEEK 7 GAME NOTES
 
vs. SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (5-19, 1-2 WCC)
Date: Friday-Sunday, March 31 - April 2, 2017
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field (1,300)
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: SCU 50-33
2016: SCU 9-5, SCU 9-1, SCU 6-5 (10) - May 13-15 @Santa Clara
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • March 31 • 6 PM
POR: LHP Grady Miller (1-4, 4.36)
SCU: RHP Eric Lex (1-5, 3.86)
 
Saturday • April 1 • 6 PM
POR: LHP Corbin Powers (0-2, 5.34)
SCU: RHP Jacob Steffens (1-3, 4.46)
 
Sunday • April 2 • 1 PM
POR: TBA
SCU: RHP Michael Bono (0-3, 7.23)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots continue their homestand this weekend when they welcome the Santa Clara Broncos to Joe Etzel Field for a three-game West Coast Conference series.
• First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's finale will begin at 1 p.m.
• Video for all three games will be streamed at TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots and Oregon Ducks combined for six hits total on Tuesday at Joe Etzel Field where the Ducks escaped with a 1-0 win.
• Portland starter Tate Budnick tossed a gem, allowing just the one run on three hits in a career-high 7.0 innings.
• Oregon scored the game's lone run in the top of the third.
• The Pilots kept is close for most of last weekend, but in the end the Saint Mary's Gaels took all three games of the WCC series at Louis Guisto Field.
• During Saturday's double header, the Gaels jumped ahead 5-0 in game one before the Pilots rallied to tie it; the Gaels responded with two unanswered tallies to prevail 7-5.
• Mike Hicks belted a two-run home run in top of the fifth to level the score.
• It was the Pilots who surged ahead in the second game, claiming a 4-0 lead; but again the Gaels answered, this time en route to a 6-5 victory; down 5-3 in the seventh, SMC scored three times to claim the win.
• Kevin Wade and Ryan Hoogerwerf homered during the loss.
• Wade homered again on Sunday during an 11-5 Saint Mary's win.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior Kevin Wade has homered in two of the last three games.
• Sophomore Matt Kelly is batting a team-best .337; he's currently riding a career-long 10-game hitting streak, and his batting average ranks fifth in the WCC.
• Portland ranks 20th in the nation in sacrifice bunts (21), while redshirt-freshman Beau Brundage is fourth nationally with seven sacrifice bunts.
• Portland's game against Seattle on March 22 was the 600th in the coaching career of 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.
• 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 seventh in the WCC in strikeouts (35, 9.5 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.
• On Feb. 24 at CSU Bakersfield, Ryan Hoogerwerf and Hawken went back-to-back with home runs in the first inning; Hoogerwerf leads the team with four homers on the year, while Hawken is second with three.
• 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.
• On March 31 of last season, the Pilots played the 600th game ever at Joe Etzel Field, which opened in 1989.
• The Pilots led the WCC last season with 71 stolen bases, which came after swiping only 21 the year before.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Broncos are batting .241 as a team, and junior Jake Brodt leads the way with a team-best mark of .340.
• Freshman Andre Nnebe is batting .319, has three homers, and leads the squad with 15 RBI's.
• Opponents are hitting .277, and SCU's staff ERA is 6.01.
• Head coach Dan O'Brien is in his sixth year at the helm of the Broncos.