Play Ball!!!!

by DoubleDipper on Sat Feb 11, 2012 12:48 pm

The season’s opener is only a week away, and Portland senior pitcher Kyle Kraus and sophomore outfielder/designated hitter Turner Gill were both selected to the 2012 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team. Cool

San Diego is tabbed as the favorite to win the conference title this year, while the Pilots are picked to finish eighth.

2012 WCC PRESEASON POLL
Team (First Place Votes), Points
1. San Diego (5), 59
2. Gonzaga (3), 57
3. San Francisco (1), 51
4. Loyola Marymount, 37
5. Pepperdine, 30
6. Saint Mary’s, 30
7. BYU, 28
8. Portland, 23
9. Santa Clara, 9

Full story at: http://www.portlandpilots.com/news/2012/2/10/BSB_0210124034.aspx

by DoubleDipper on Sat Feb 18, 2012 12:37 am

The Pilots Baseball Team opened the 2012 season today with a win down in Beaumont, Texas. Very Happy

From the UP Athletic Department (edited):

Kyle Kraus pitched 7.0 solid innings and Kris Kauppila drove in three runs as the Portland Pilots opened the 2012 season with an 11-0 shutout of Stephen F. Austin at the Lamar Classic on Friday afternoon. Kraus, a senior right-hander struck out seven and allowed just three hits.

The Pilots (1-0) scored during each of the first four innings, including a five-run third inning to hand Kraus (1-0) all the support he would need. Ben Grubb opened the scoring in the first inning by knocking in Kauppila, who had led off with a double.

Portland added two more runs in the bottom of the second inning, courtesy a two-out, two-run single by Kauppila, before the five-run outburst in the third. Jeff Melby had the big hit during the frame, a two-run double, while Kauppila and Caleb Whalen also picked up RBI’s.

Grubb drilled a solo home run in the fourth, and Sam Westendorf drove in a run in the seventh to cap the scoring for the Pilots.

The win gives Kraus, a pre-season All-American, 21 for his career, leaving him just four W’s shy of matching the all-time mark for career wins at UP. Kraus walked just two and allowed just one runner to advance past first base.

Junior right-hander J.R. Bunda followed Kraus on the mound and retired the Lumberjacks in order during the final 2.0 innings. Bunda struck out a pair.

Chase Greening (0-1) took the loss for SFA (0-1), allowing eight runs, five earned, in 3.0 innings of work. Greening was one of five pitchers used by the Lumberjacks.

Kauppila and Grubb each finished with three hits, while Melby had two. Kauppila also scored three times. Chris Hernandez had two of SFA’s three hits.

The Pilots next face tournament host Lamar at Vincent-Beck Stadium on Saturday. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. (Pacific), and the Pilots are scheduled to start freshman left-hander Travis Radke on the hill.

by Shadrach on Mon Feb 20, 2012 7:32 pm

Great start for the Pilots as they won both games they played in Texas to open the season. The Pilots followed Friday's 11-0 victory with a 10-5 win on Sunday. Saturday's game was - of all things - rained out! They could have stayed home and have that happen!

Anyway, the coach has got to be pleased with how things unfolded. 20+ runs and 20+ hits over the two games plus some superb pitching. I know it's early but you gotta like the way things have started. Team batting avg. is .311 with a 1.000 team fielding percent. No errors and great defense to go along with the offensive onslaught that included 3-4 dingers that left the yard.

The team's home opener for tomorrow has been shifted to Concordia's new stadium and its artifical turf. This weekend the Creighton University Bluejays come to town sporting a 3-0 record for a 3-games series with the Pilots. Let's hope the weather holds for the games and the Pilots mojo continues.

by RipCityPilot on Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:38 pm

Shadrach wrote:The team's home opener for tomorrow has been shifted to Concordia's new stadium and its artifical turf.

I realize this may be wayyyyyyy off into the future, but those preliminary expansion plans for campus show a new baseball stadium being built down by the river. Would artificial turf be the way to go? When you look at schools nearby (Oregon, OSU, UW, WSU, Gonzaga, and now Concordia) they all have turf baseball fields. I kind of like that we still use grass, but it seems like half (an exaggeration, I know) of a season's games are canceled due to "unplayable conditions."

Discuss, please.

by DoubleDipper on Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:42 pm

Shadrach wrote:
The team's home opener for tomorrow has been shifted to Concordia's new stadium and its artifical turf.

Should be "muggy" with rain and temps reaching the low 50's. Cool

Artist's rendition; I think it's been too dark and rainy for an actual photograph since the complex became operational! Razz

by PurpleGeezer on Mon Feb 20, 2012 9:51 pm

There are plans for a new stadium below the bluff, and probably sooner than you think.

There are several items currently on the agenda the college wants to do and one of the first is the new finess center. Before that happens, Etzel field needs to go away. The waiting period for the EPA to release the ground down there is almost done, so don't be surprised if there is an announcement before the season is out.
(no actual official word on that, mind you)

As to Turf, I'm pretty sure only the infield at OSU is Turf. Etzel has some of the wear areas aroundd the plate as turf already,[edit: yes, the outfield is Natural grass at Goss] Im sure they will consider that.

God never intended for people to play America's game on plastic anyway. Besides, we hired a turf expert last year. We will need to keep him busy.

by PurpleGeezer on Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:13 pm

Looks like Google Earth did their flyover right when the fields were being laid.

by RipCityPilot on Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:30 pm

Ooooo... Now I'm all excited. I hope the new baseball stadium has video broadcast capabilities so that they can stream video from the games. That would be nice. Maybe also a roof over the seats. Maybe also a video screen to show players faces as they go up to bat!

I'm getting too excited. bounce

I never noticed the infield turf at Etzel field. Is that new?

by PurpleGeezer on Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:37 pm

RipCityPilot wrote:Ooooo... Now I'm all excited. I hope the new baseball stadium has video broadcast capabilities so that they can stream video from the games. That would be nice. Maybe also a roof over the seats. Maybe also a video screen to show players faces as they go up to bat!

I'm getting too excited.

I never noticed the infield turf at Etzel field. Is that new?

Just right around the Plate (Foul territory) and those little paths to the dugout/on deck circles.

Been there a while.

Easy, dude. we are talking EPA. those dudes could take a century to get off their civil service duffs. They might rather retire and let the next generation take the heat for actually signing a document.

UP is ready, though.

by PurplePrideTrumpet on Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:13 pm

RipCityPilot wrote:
Shadrach wrote:The team's home opener for tomorrow has been shifted to Concordia's new stadium and its artifical turf.

I realize this may be wayyyyyyy off into the future, but those preliminary expansion plans for campus show a new baseball stadium being built down by the river. Would artificial turf be the way to go? When you look at schools nearby (Oregon, OSU, UW, WSU, Gonzaga, and now Concordia) they all have turf baseball fields. I kind of like that we still use grass, but it seems like half (an exaggeration, I know) of a season's games are canceled due to "unplayable conditions."

Discuss, please.

I like grass and dirt fields when the weather's nice but I tell you what, turf is a very useful thing to have around here. These days lots of high schools are building turf baseball/softball fields and those save not only that school's season, but other schools in the area that can use it when it rains. Regular season games get moved to turf fields often but where it really helps in the playoffs. Two years in a row I've been on crews scheduled to umpire state high school softball playoff games at schools with grass fields. Both years my game has been rained out on the originally scheduled day and moved to a turf field the next day. Right now I can think of seven turf softball diamonds in the Portland area and the last two years we used all of them to get the playoff games in our area in.

I think Portland could have a grass field if they can use Concordia's when they need it and it's available. Even if you don't have one yourself it's good to have one in town (especially a short drive from campus).

by Shadrach on Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:17 pm

Some good posts there with some good information and it is right on.

The EPA finally sent comments last week on the proposed clean-up plan for the river campus that UP has been waiting for since last August. UP is required to submit a response to those comments so EPA can publish a notice in the federal register that the revised plan is ready for public review and comment. UP expects to have comments back to EPA in 2-3 weeks. The public notice period is 30 days with additional time for EPA to review any comments received before issuing UP an order to proceed.

First up will be work on a few selected areas on the property (only a fraction of the property requires clean-up) and the start of prepartions/earthwork for a new baseball playing field and stadium. Expect to see a lot of activity down there this summer. A new recreation & wellness center is scheduled for a ground breaking in summer 2013 on the current Joe Etzel Field site. (An architect rendering of the new rec center is available for viewing on the UP Facilities & Construction Dept. website). The Pilots will play the 2013 season at the new facility on the river campus. Lots of good work ahead in 2012 - 2013 but it is very exciting. Stay tuned for more information about this project over the next several months.

While UP embarks on complying with the EPA order it is at the same time working on a new master plan application to be submitted to the City of Portland later this spring that will bring the river campus into a new UP boundary and set the stage for development of that property and the main campus for the next 10+ years.

by PurplePrideTrumpet on Mon Feb 20, 2012 11:22 pm

So you're saying if we have free time this summer, it might be worth it to spy on the river campus? Very Happy

That's exciting news. A new stadium by the river should be a great setting for baseball.

by RipCityPilot on Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:18 am

It would be like the San Francisco Giants stadium in the home runs were hit into the water. But, that's probably not environmentally friendly. And, I don't know if a baseball stadium oriented that way would be sun friendly.

Shadrach, you seem to know about this. Would they build a new stadium like the Ducks did? Field first, season, then stands? Or all at once? So many questions...

by mattywizz on Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:30 am

It sounds like everyone wants a grass field, but the weather is not conducive to a grass field. The other option is artificial turf. What if I offer a third solution? Retractable roof! That probably only adds $100M to the final cost.

by DoubleDipper on Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:53 am

From UP Athletic Department SID:

Portland senior shortstop Kris Kauppila was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week after helping the Pilots open the season with two convincing wins over Stephen F. Austin.

Kauppila went 5-for-9 (.556) at the plate during the weekend with four RBI’s, a double, a homer and six runs scored. He also swiped one base and was flawless in the field.

During UP’s season-opening 11-0 win over the Lumberjacks in Beaumont, Texas, on Friday, Kauppila had three hits, three RBI’s, three runs, a double and a stolen base. He led off Sunday’s 10-5 win with a solo home run. He’d add another hit and a walk, while scoring three times.

Play Ball!!!!

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