Season Opener for Portland Pilots Baseball

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots open the 2020 season with a four-game non-conference series against the Nevada Wolf Pack at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield, Wash.
• Weather has forced the Pilots and Wolf Pack to adjust the schedule as they’ll open the series with a double header on Friday, with the first game set for 11 a.m.
• The Pilots and Wolf Pack will then play one game on Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m.
• Links for live audio and live stats for all four games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

THIS SEASON IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Due to the on-going construction of Joe Etzel Field the Pilots will be playing “home” games throughout the greater Portland area and Southwest Washington.
• The Pilots will be playing two series at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield, Wash. (Feb. 14-16 & Feb. 28-March 1), two series at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro (Feb. 20-22 & March 26-28), and they’ll play one series at Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. (March 13-15).
• Additionally, the Pilots will be playing two games at Concordia University (March 25 & 30) and another at Ron Tonkin Field (April 21).
• All other home games will be played at Joe Etzel Field, with berm seating only for games in April.
• Ridgefield Notes: Admission is free and concessions will not be available.
• Hillsboro Notes: Admission will be charged ($5 for everyone and seating is all general admission) and concessions will be available for purchase; this does not apply to the game vs. Oregon State on April 21, and for more ticket information on that game please visit PortlandPilots.com/tickets.
• Corvallis Notes: Admission is free.

NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots host the Utah Valley Wolverines next week at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro for a four-game set.
• The series begins with one game on Thursday at 1 p.m., a double header is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m., and Saturday’s finale will start at 1 p.m.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 2020 marks the fifth 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).
• The Pilots won 25 games overall last season, which was the most wins since 2012.
• Portland features 19 returning letterwinners and 16 newcomers.
• Junior shortstop Chad Stevens was voted to the 2020 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team.
• Stevens landed on the All-WCC Second Team and was placed on the initial Brooks Wallace Award Watch List last year; he hit .284 as a sophomore and collected 13 doubles, a triple, 12 stolen bases, and 36 runs scored, which are the ninth most in a single season in Portland program history.
• Sophomore Tracye Tammaro also earned all-conference recognition last year, landing on the league’s all-freshman team after hitting .261 overall with five home runs, 26 RBI’s, a triple, and 11 doubles in his first year with the Pilots.
• Tammaro’s on-base percentage of .407 was a team-high, and his 409 putouts at first base rank 10th on the program’s single-season chart.
• During one stretch last season Tammaro homered in four straight games.
• Portland features a deep pitching staff, led by senior reliever Connor Knutson and junior starter Eli Morse.
• Knutson enters the year with 18 career saves, which are just six shy of matching the program’s all-time record.
• Last year he compiled 10 saves, three wins, and a 2.85 ERA, and he was named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List
• Morse has a career ERA of 3.57, he ranks seventh all-time for UP baseball in fewest walks per nine innings (2.18), and his 8.03 K’s per nine innings are No. 10 on the Portland charts.
• The Pilots led the WCC in home runs last season with 52; junior catcher Hunter Montgomery belted a team-high nine homers.

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