The Portland Pilots baseball team kept their West Coast Conference Tournament hopes alive on May 15 by defeating the Pacific Tigers 3-2 in a game that went into the 12th inning at Joe Etzel Field. Kaden Segel earned the win for Portland with more than six scoreless innings of relief.
This result moved the Pilots into a tie for sixth place in the conference standings, with only one regular season game remaining. The top six teams qualify for next week’s league tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona. To secure a spot, Portland must win Saturday’s series finale and hope Santa Clara loses at home to Pepperdine.
Segel pitched 6.2 shutout innings out of the bullpen, allowing five hits and striking out two batters. Starter Trey Newmann also contributed by giving up two runs on five hits over more than five innings while striking out six. For Pacific, starter Adan Perez held Portland to just one run over seven innings with nine strikeouts, but reliever Liam Smith took the loss after allowing runners who eventually scored during his time on the mound.
The game was marked by strong pitching and several key defensive plays from both sides. The Pilots scored first in the third inning but fell behind when Pacific took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. In the bottom of the ninth, Aaron Louis led off with a single before Cody Nitowitz hit a sacrifice fly to tie it up and send it into extra innings. Both teams had chances late, but timely defense—including throws from Nitowitz and catcher Dakota Chun—kept Pacific from scoring until Portland finally won on a wild pitch that allowed Cole Katayama Stall to score in heavy rain during the twelfth inning.
Game notes indicate that Portland finished with three runs on eight hits without committing an error, while Pacific managed two runs on ten hits and one error. Sophomore Trey Swygart led Pilot hitters by going two-for-five with an RBI.
The series will conclude Saturday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field following Senior Day ceremonies honoring six players before first pitch.
