SPOKANE, Wash. – The Portland Pilots (20-14, 7-8 WCC) dropped the rubber match against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-9, 11-4 WCC) 5-2 in Spokane. The loss puts the Pilots back below .500 in conference play.
Eli Morse gave up five runs in the first three innings, which was just enough to lump him with the loss. Three Pilot pitchers saw the mound in total, with Nick Nygard and Joey Gartrell each making appearances. Owen Wild earned the win for Gonzaga.
Portland had two runs off six hits on Saturday. In his season debut, Christian Cooney shined, going 2-for-4 with a home run in his opening at bat.