PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots (4-0) earned the series sweep over the Creighton Bluejays (0-4) with the 6-5 win on Sunday. They start the year 4-0 for the first time since the 2012 season.
Sam Brown and Jake Holcroft were the top batters on the day, going 2-for-5 each. Holcroft hit a home run to open the scoring while Sam Bronw had an RBI double. Tony Boetto was the only other batter to earn an RBI, batting 1-for-5.
Caleb Franzen was credited with the win in his first start of the season. He went 4
1/3 innings allowing only one run and striking out five. Peter Allegro earned the save after fending off the Bluejays in the final two innings.
Portland opened the scoring in first inning. Jake Holcroft earned his first home run of the season, going oppo with a moonshot over the left field wall. The solo shot put the Pilots up 1-0 after just one.
Two more runs came the following inning for the Pilots off an error from Creighton. With runners on second and third, Ty Saunders put a ground ball in play right to first baseman Sterling Hayes, who threw it home to stop a run from coming in. Hayes's throw was off target, hitting the backstop. Two runners made it home, giving Portland a 3-0 lead.
The Bluejays responded in the third inning with a solo shot from Andrew Meggs. The scoring stopped momentarily until the fifth inning when two runs came in. Tony Boetto hit an RBI double to centerfield to earn the first, with the second run coming off a wild pitch that brought Boetto in. The Pilots took a 5-1 lead.
Jack Grace added a run for Creighton with an RBI double in the seventh inning to close the gap, but the Pilots took it back with an RBI double from Brown. Creighton pushed the Pilots in the final inning, with Brantley Voth hitting a three-run homer to bring them within one. But Portland held strong, earning the 6-5 victory and completing the sweep.
Next up, the Pilots will begin their long stretch of road contests with a series against the San Jose State Spartans. They'll play a four-game weekend series starting on Friday, Feb. 25 at 3:05 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.