Pilots baseball defeated the Niagara Purple Eagles 8-5 in their home opener on Feb. 27, wiping their three-game losing streak following a sweep against UC Santa Barbara.
Fifth-year pitcher Kaden Segel took the mound to start and gave up a leadoff single before the Purple Eagles got on the board immediately with an RBI triple. However, the Pilots fired back with three runs over the first and second innings.
The Pilots were led at the plate by senior outfielder Brady Bean and senior infielder Jonas Salk, who each hit a home run. Bean went 3-5 and scored two runs, including a monster homer in the bottom of the sixth inning that cemented the final score. Salk drove in three runs, with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and a towering two-run shot that sailed into the left-center field trees and gave the squad a two-run lead in the third inning.
Sophomore infielder Cole Katayama-Stall went 2-3 while stealing two bases and anchoring the infield at the shortstop position. Freshman catcher Dakota Chun went 2-5 with two doubles.
The Portland offense was consistent and well-rounded throughout the matchup, which Bean attributes to the energy from the dugout.
“We got forty unsung heroes in the dugout every single day,” Bean said. “No matter what, if you’re a hero or not, you're still part of the team. You're still representing the name on the front of our jersey.”
Redshirt junior pitcher Ky Hoskinson earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth with two strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Aaron Louis also served two innings in relief, tossing two strikeouts but also walking two batters and giving up two hits and a run. Junior pitcher Trey Newman closed the game with three commanding strikeouts in the ninth.
Portland improves to 3-5 on the season and will return to Joe Etzel Field to face Niagara on Feb. 28 and March 1. For the rest of the series, they plan to stick with the fundamentals that worked tonight.
“It's got to be consistent,” Bean said. “[We’ve] got to bring the same intent tomorrow. Playing basic baseball, that's a big focus this week. … Some nights we're going to need a hero, and tomorrow we'll probably get another one.”
Kaeden Souki is the Sports Editor for The Beacon, he can be reached at souki28@up.edu.
