Baseball 2022

It didn't end much better the Pilots lost 22-8. Brett Gillis the WCC Pitcher of the Year threw 81 pitches in 2.1 IP. Portland did manage to get some offense going after trailing 14-1 the Pilots scored seven unanswered making it 14-8 before the Toreros batted through the order and turned in a historic night.

Pilots have a quick turnaround as they will be taking the field in 12 hours against LMU in an elimination game.

Good comeback by the Pilots today as they down LMU 10-2 while getting 7 2/3 innings of scoreless relief from Eli Morse. Eli is now the all-time career leader in strikeouts by a Pilot pitcher.

Maybe Fox Mulder will be able to explain what's next, but I think UP, GU, and USD are the only teams left in the tournament...with GU and USD having the upper hand by being undefeated...and they play each other later today.

Looks like the Pilots play the loser of the USD:GU game tonight in a loser out game, and the winner playing the winner of USD:GU tomorrow until one team has two losses.

From the WCC web site:
Friday May 27th
12:00 PM Game 5: No. 2 Portland vs. No. 5 LMU
3:30 PM Game 6: No. 3 San Diego vs. No. 1 Gonzaga
7:30 PM Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 Non-Advancing Team
Saturday, May 28
3:00 PM Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner
7:00 PM Game 9 (If Necessary): Game 8 winner vs. Game 8 Non-Advancing Team if first loss

GU opened up a 3-0 lead, but USD came back and won 5-3 in a 2:50 game. Pilots play Zags tonight.

https://portlandpilots.com/news/2022/5/27/baseball-zags-blank-pilots-to-end-portlands-season.aspx

USD won its second ever WCC Tournament and the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals by powering by GU, 15-12 in 11 innings.

The game went back and forth with momentum swing what felt like every single inning. USD gave up their lead in the bottom of the ninth but rallied with two home runs in the 11th to propel them to victory.

Jake Holcroft and Evan Scavotto also were named to the All-WCC tournament team. They are the first Pilots to receive such honors.

Eli Morse was close to being named after throwing 7.2 Scoreless innings in relief on his way to becoming the all-time strikeout leader in UP history.

Gonzaga and San Diego have both been eliminated during the regional phase of the NCAA Tournament.

I was in Corvallis to watch USD upset Vanderbilt in their first game, but the Toreros then lost to OSU and Vanderbilt on subsequent days.

Gonzaga played in the Blacksburg Regional, and their pitching just didn't hold up, losing to Columbia twice, while beating Wright St. in their second game.

The Pilots got me hooked on watching college baseball this year, and I am now enjoying watching the NCAA Tournament more than MLB. It has something to do with the craziness and unpredictability of the players and the college game in general...and those metal bats!

Coach Valentine has accepted a position as an assistant at Washington State Valentine to WSU

Fox Mulder wrote:Coach Valentine has accepted a position as an assistant at Washington State Valentine to WSU

                                                           Wow. Good for Coach Valentine. Feels like a pretty big hit for the Bluff Boys

Brett Gillis will be amongst a former face as he joins the Astros organization and Chad Stevens