LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Portland Pilots (17-8, 4-3 WCC) took the opener against the Loyola Marymount Lions (7-17-1, 4-3 WCC) 5-3. The win puts the Pilots above .500 in WCC play.

Brett Gillis was the winning pitcher on Friday night. He went six innings with nine strikeouts and three runs allowed. It's the fifth time in seven starts that he's had at least eight strikeouts on the mount. Peter Allegro also earned the save.

Most of the scoring came early for Portland, as they scored four runs in the first inning and one more in the eighth. Gabe Skoro went an impressive 3-for-4 on the day with two doubles and an RBI. He was one of five Pilots to record an RBI hit on the day. Jake Holcroft also hit his second home run of the season on Saturday in a 1-for-5 effort.

Portland's first four runs all came in the opening frame. Skoro got things started with an RBI double. Trace Tammaro then brought Skoro home to put the Pilots up 2-0. Nich Klemp scored Tammaro with an RBI single and Jake Tsukada finished things off with a scoring single of his own. The Pilots took an early 4-0 lead.

The Pilots were firmly in control for the first half of this game. The second half, however, saw the Lions begin threatening Portland. It started with two runs in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of Diego Baqueiro, who hit a double to halve the score. Dylan Dennis followed that up the next inning with an RBI single that cut Portland's lead to one.

But Portland didn't stay idle. Instead, they responded in a big way in the eighth inning. Holcroft hit his solo shot over the wall in right center to put the Pilots lead at two. After that, the Pilots just had to hold off LMU. Allegro was solid in the final two innings, earning the save for Portland and getting them the win.

The Pilots and Lions will be back at it tomorrow at 6 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video.