The UP Baseball team has started the season with a record of 17-11 overall and sits 4-5 in conference play.
“The conference is really deep this year,” Head Coach Geoff Loomis said. “So we’re only two series in (six games) and we end up playing 27 conference games.”
The Pilots got off to a good start against Creighton University, sweeping the four game series at home. They then were on the road for 12 games straight, coming out with eight wins.
“I think that showed us that we're capable of going on a long stretch of road games and being very competitive,” Loomis said. “The toughest thing is going on the road and trying to win at somebody else's home field,”
The team brings a lot of energy to their games and although they’ve had some decent crowds so far, Loomis would like to see more UP students in the stands. It is always a better atmosphere for players when their fellow classmates come out to cheer them on, Loomis said.
“I think what we find as more people come out from the University, they find it's a really good time and that they really enjoy watching our baseball team compete,” Loomis said.
The team is hoping to place top four in the WCC conference in order to go to the tournament at the end of the season and Coach Loomis believes that seeing more students in the stands would be great.
“We know that every week in the WCC for baseball there are no easy weekends,” Loomis said. “We're just looking to go out and compete and try to play each game. Just play one game and focus on that game and not worry about the series.”
This season's key players include third baseman Ben Patacsil, who is currently batting .450 in the WCC conference. Starting pitcher Brett Gillis is in the top five for the WCC conference with a current earned runs average (ERA) of 1.22.
Pitcher Eli Morse has played consistently for the team, typically pitching the Sunday games. Then there’s pitcher Peter Allegro who closes the games for the Pilots. He currently has six saves on the year.
Men’s baseball also traveled to California to take on Loyola Marymount where they won the first game 5-3 on Apr. 1, lost the second game 3-6 on Apr. 2 and lost the third game 5-11 on Apr. 3.
They returned to Portland to take on Portland State at Ron Tonkin Stadium on Apr. 5, where they lost 1-5.
The Pilots’ next series is at home against San Diego, with the first game scheduled for Apr. 8 at 6pm.
Wilder Isom is a Sports Reporter for the Beacon. She can be reached at isomw24@up.edu.
