MORAGA, Calif. -- For the second game in a row, the Portland Pilots battled the Saint Mary's Gaels to an 8-7 extra-innings win, beating the Gaels in the 11th inning. The Pilots took their third WCC series of the year with the win.
Kaden Segel (4-3) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Portland (14-17, 7-1). The right-hander went three innings, giving up one run on four hits, allowing no walks and striking out two.
Offensively, five Pilots put up multiple hits on the day, paced by Brady Bean's 3-for-5 outing with an RBI. Zach Toglia shined with a 2-for-3 day including three RBI's on his home run in the 11th inning that gave the Pilots the late lead and eventually the win. Cole Katayama-Stall and Cody Nitowitz each went 2-for-6 on the day, with Katayama-Stall adding two RBI's, and Tyler Howard batted 2-for-5, extending his on-base streak to 24 games.
How it Happened
Trailing 1-0, the Pilots first put runs on the board in the third inning. Portland scored after Nitowitz's bunt and an errant throw from third for Saint Mary's allowed Aaron Louis to make it home from second base, tying it up at one.
The score stayed at 1-1 until the very next inning, when the Pilots put runs on the scoreboard once again. Portland brought home a pair with RBI singles from Bean and Howard to make it 3-1 Portland.
Portland's lead had disappeared by the ninth inning, with runs in the fifth and seventh giving Saint Mary's a 4-3 lead. But the Pilots scored three runs in the ninth inning, two of them coming across on a Katayama-Stall single and another on a sac fly from Toglia, to make it 6-4 Pilots.
The Gaels, however, tied the game at six in the final frame to send it to extras. The score stayed even until the 11th, when Tolgia hit a moonshot to left field that put the Pilots up 8-6. Eddie Madrigal homered in the 11th as well, but it was too little too late. The Pilots won 8-7.
Game Notes
» Bean compiled three base knocks in the game for Portland. He's had multiple hits in a team-high 13 games this season.
» Portland's highest scoring inning was the ninth, when it pushed three runs across.
» Five Pilots had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Pilots out-hit the Gaels at a 13-11 clip.
» Portland pitchers faced 51 Saint Mary's (CA) hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and 16 fly balls while striking out seven.
» Toglia led the power output for the Pilots at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI's. That makes seven home runs on the year for Toglia.
» With his 27th career home run, Toglia moves into sole possesion of fifth place on Portland's all-time career home runs list.
» Howard extends his reached base streak to 24, the longest by a Pilot since 2021.
Up Next
The Pilots go for the sweep against the Gaels tomorrow at 1 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for live stats and video options.
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