Baseball:
On Friday, March 22, Pilots baseball traveled to California to kick off their West Coast Conference (WCC) opener against Santa Clara University in a three-game series. The Pilots clinched a 7-2 win, fueled by a standout performance from Pilot pitcher Nick Brink, who ended the game with seven strikeouts.
In the second game of the series on Saturday, March 23, the Pilots secured an 8-3 victory. Riley McCarthy, a catcher for the Pilots, had several strong at-bats finishing the game with four hits and a run-batted-in (RBI).
The Pilots ended the series with yet another win on Sunday, March 24, completing a sweep of Santa Clara University with a 16-4 victory. Pilots pitcher Sam Stuhr’s four strikeouts and Curtis Hebert’s three strikeouts were instrumental in securing this win.
On Tuesday, March 26, Pilots baseball faced Washington State University at home, clinching a narrow 3-2 victory with a late run scored on a sacrifice fly ball. Kaden Segel, the Pilots starting pitcher for the game, struck out five batters.
In their next series, the Pilots hosted three home games against Mount Saint Mary's University, beginning on Friday, March 29. The Pilots won the first game with a solid score of 4-0. Nick Brink emerged as the standout player, and was the game's star, pitching a complete-game shutout for the Pilots. Alongside his shutout, Brink achieved a career-high 12 strikeouts (K’s).
Following Brinks' performance, on Saturday, March 30, the Pilots played a doubleheader against Mount Saint Mary's University — winning the first game 6-4 and the second game 23-3 and securing another series sweep. These wins bring their overall record to 17-9 so far. The Pilots played the University of Oregon at home on Tuesday, April 2 and lost 7-4.
Next, Pilots baseball will play the University of the Pacific at home in a three-game series starting on Friday, April 5, at 6:00 p.m.
UP baseball player steps on home plate during a home baseball game against OSU.
Women’s beach volleyball:
Pilots beach volleyball traveled to Santa Cruz, California to play in the WCC mid-season tournament. On Friday, March 29, the Pilots faced double defeat, losing 4-1 against Santa Clara University and 5-0 against Pepperdine University.
On Saturday, March 30, the Pilots bounced back on the last day of the tournament with two victories. They swept the University of the Pacific 5-0 and beat the University of San Francisco with a score of 3-2. These wins bring the Pilots overall record to 8-8 so far.
Pilots beach volleyball will get a week's rest before traveling to Hawaii for their next tournament on Saturday, April 13.
Men and women’s track and field:
Pilots track and field kicked off their 2024 outdoor season at the University of Oregon Preview. On Friday, March 22, Maebh Richardson and Nolan Hosbein represented the Pilots in the women’s and men’s 5,000-meter run, respectively. Richardson secured a fifth place finish in the women’s event while Hosbein claimed seventh place in the men’s competition.
On Saturday, March 23, Marlee Cavitt achieved two school records during the second day of the UO Preview. Cavitt ran the 100-meter and 200-meter races, setting record-breaking times of 12:04 and 24.65 respectively. Concluding the tournament, Courtney Klatt competed in the women’s 1,500-meter, securing first place with an impressive time of 4:28.44.
Pilots track and field then traveled to Palo Alto, California to participate in the Stanford Invite on Saturday, March 30. Cavitt broke her own school record in the 100-meter race, posting a time of 11.74. In the men’s 1,500-meter race, Eliason Kabasenche placed second in heat four with a time of 3:44.97. Jona Bodirsky also took second in heat two of the men’s 10,000-meter race, clocking in at 28:39.73.
The Pilots will race again at the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific University on Thursday, April 4.
Men’s tennis:
Pilot men’s tennis hosted the University of San Francisco on Thursday, March 28 and won 5-2, extending their unbeaten home streak to 7-0. In their next home game on Saturday, March 30, the Pilots swept Saint Mary’s College of California with a score of 4-0, further solidifying their unbeaten at-home record to 8-0. With these two wins, the Pilots overall record improves to 8-5.
Next, men’s tennis will travel to play against the University of California, Davis on Friday, April 5.
Women’s tennis:
The Pilots traveled to play Santa Clara University on Thursday, March 28 and won 5-2. Continuing their success, the women’s tennis earned a second consecutive WCC road win by defeating the University of San Francisco 5-2 on Saturday, March 30. Next, the Pilots traveled to play Saint Mary’s College of California on Monday, April 1, and lost 4-3. The two wins and one loss bring the Pilots to an overall record of 9-8.
Women’s tennis will now return home to host Loyola Marymount University on Saturday, April 6 at 10:00 a.m.
Women’s rowing:
Pilots rowing traveled to Washington on Saturday, March 30, to compete at the Tacoma Tussle race. The team secured first place in all races at the event. The Pilots claimed victories in Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four, achieving times of 7:43.0, 8:11.0 and 9:39.0, respectively.
Next, the Pilots will host the Portland Invite at Vancouver Lake in Washington on Saturday, April 6.
Aidan Hyde is a sports reporter at The Beacon. He can be reached at hydea25@up.edu.
