PORTLAND PILOTS (4-7, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 4 GAME NOTES
 
vs. No. 2 Oregon State Beavers (12-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2018
First Pitch: 5:05 PM
Location: Corvallis, Ore.
Ballpark: Goss Stadium
Video: Pac-12.com
Stats: OSUBeavers.com
Series: OSU leads 153-57-1
2017: OSU 4, @POR 3 (April 4); OSU 7, POR 1 (at Keizer, May 16)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Tuesday • March 6 • 5:05 PM
POR: TBA
OSU: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots travel to Corvallis, Ore., this week for a non-conference game with No. 2 Oregon State at Goss Stadium on Tuesday.
• First pitch for the Pilots and Beavers is set for 5:05 p.m., and a stream for the game is available at Pac-12.com.
• Portland returns home later in the week to host UC Irvine in a four-game series at Joe Etzel Field, which is scheduled to begin with the opener at 6 p.m. on Friday night.
• The Pilots and Anteaters will then play a double header starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, while Sunday's series finale is set for 12 p.m.
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners took three of five from the Pilots at Joe Etzel Field.
• The Roadrunners claimed the first two games by 5-1 and 7-3 (10 innings) margins on Thursday and Friday, respectively, before the Pilots bounced back to shutout CSUB 5-0 on Saturday.
• During that win, Portland starter Corbin Powers struck out nine in 7.0 scoreless innings, while scattering six hits; only two CSUB baserunners reached second base against the senior lefty.
• Reliever Tate Budnick worked a flawless 2.0 innings out of the bullpen, registering three K's.
• Offensively, Beau Brundage extended his hitting streak by going 3-for-4 with two RBI's and two runs scored.
• During the finale on Sunday, the Pilots led 6-0 early, but the Roadrunners rallied for a 10-8 win, which included a four-run top of the ninth inning.
• Ryan Kim finished with three hits on Sunday, Jace McKinney drove in three RBI's, and Dutton Elske scored three runs.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior left-handed starter Corbin Powers has been on fire pitching at home this season, going 2-0 while not allowing a run in 14.2 innings of work; he's holding the opposition to a .200 batting average at the friendly confines, and he's struck out 17.
• Despite not leaving the yard last week against CSUB, the Pilots have 12 home runs through 11 games; Portland didn't claim home run No. 12 last season until their 22nd game.
• Jace McKinney, a junior transfer, had a hit in his first seven games as a Pilot.
• Sophomore outfielder Beau Brundage, who leads the Pilots with a .400 batting average, is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak, which is only one shy of his career-long stretch of 11.
• Ryan Kim nearly became the first Portland player in program history to hit for the cycle on Feb. 24 against Saint Joseph's, but the sophomore outfielder fell a single shy; after going 3-for-3 to begin the day, Kim drew a walk during his final at-bat.
• Daniel Lopez joined a long list of Pilots to hit two home runs in a game during a 3-for-5, eight RBI performance on Feb. 24 against Saint Joseph's; no player in UP history has hit three home runs in a game.
• Portland plays 20 of their first 24 games of 2018 at Joe Etzel Field.
• 2018 marks the third year for head coach Geoff Loomis, a Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member who still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376).
• Portland's game against Seattle on March 22 last season was the 600th in the coaching career of Loomis, who previously spent 13 seasons as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he led the Lutes to 11 winning seasons and two NCAA Regional appearances.
• The Pilots returned 20 letterwinners from last year, seven position starters and three starting pitchers.
• Headlining the returners is junior infielder Matt Kelly, who led the team with a .292 batting average last season.
• Joining Kelly is outfielder Beau Brundage, a sophomore coming off a year that saw him bat .283.
• Also back is Portland's leader in RBI's in junior outfielder Cody Hawken, who brought in 27 runs as a sophomore, and senior Ryan Hoogerwerf returns after leading the squad with seven homers last spring.
• Junior right-hander Kevin Baker, who earned Second Team All-West Coast Conference in 2017, was voted to the 2018 All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Last spring Baker ranked 27th nationally and was third in the WCC in K's per 9.0 innings (11.41); he also had the Pilots' lone complete game of the season, and his 3.03 ERA was fifth in the conference; his career-high 13 K's at Pacific (April 30) tied for the third most in a game ever for the Pilots.
• New to The Bluff this year are 14 newcomers, which includes four transfers, two redshirts, and eight true freshmen.
• Some tidbits from last year:
        - The 16-inning game against Pepperdine at Joe Etzel Field on April 9 was the longest game for the Pilots since also playing a 16-inning contest in 2008 vs. Northern Illinois.
        - Portland's 10-10 tie at Seattle on April 5 was the first tie for the Pilots since '03.
        - The capacity crowd of 1,300 to watch the Pilots and No. 1 Oregon State on  April 4 was the largest in Joe Etzel Field history; the previous high was 1,092, which also came against Oregon State in 2016.
        - The 23-19 loss at BYU on May 11 featured the most combined runs in one game in the 94-year history of the UP baseball program, and it's the most runs ever scored by the Pilots during a loss.
• Joining Loomis on the bench this year is assistant coach Jake Valentine, who is also in his third year on Portland's staff; volunteer assistant coach David Tufo is back for his second year with the Pilots.
• Pitching coach Connor Lambert, who spent the past seven seasons as the associate head coach/pitching coach for the Corvallis Knights, is in his first year at Portland; he came to North Portland from the University of Utah, were he was the director of operations.
 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
• The Oregon State Beavers enter Tuesday night with a perfect 12-0 record and are ranked No. 2 in the country in three of the major collegiate baseball polls.
• The Beavers are coming off a four-game sweep of Hartford, they're hitting .320 as a team, holding opponents to a .211 batting average, and claim a staff ERA of 2.58.
• Sophomore Adley Rutschman is batting .441, while junior Trevor Larnach is hitting .386 with team-bests of five home runs and 20 RBI's.
• University of Portland Athletics Hall of Famer Pat Casey is in his 23rd season as head coach at Oregon State and he's led the Beavers to two NCAA National Championships.