The Portland Pilots baseball team will return home to face the San Francisco Dons in a three-game conference series at Joe Etzel Field, beginning Friday, Apr. 17. The opening game is scheduled for 6 p.m., with coverage available on KUNP and ESPN+.
This matchup marks an important point in the season for both teams as they compete within the West Coast Conference. The Pilots enter the series with a record of 20-14 overall and 6-6 in conference play, while the Dons are currently tied for first place in the WCC with a conference record of 9-3 and an overall mark of 18-16.
Probable starters for Portland include Will Labonte (3-1, 2.23 ERA) on Friday, Trey Newmann (2-4, 5.36 ERA) on Saturday, and Trey Swygart (3-0, 3.07 ERA) on Sunday. The last meeting between these teams saw Portland fall to San Francisco by a score of 9-6 during last season’s contest.
Recent performances have seen Portland drop four straight games against Gonzaga and Washington State despite notable efforts from players such as Swygart—who hit .600 over the weekend—and Dakota Chun, who was involved in all three runs scored against Washington State.
Pitching has been a strength for Portland this year; they lead their conference in earned run average (ERA), walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP), and fewest walks allowed per nine innings. Offensively, Cody Nitowitz leads with a .314 batting average while Katayama-Stall is tied for first in home runs among WCC players at nine so far this season.
Head coach Geoff Loomis enters his eleventh year leading the Pilots and has reached significant milestones including over 250 career wins at Portland.
