PROVO, Utah-Thursday through Saturday, BYU baseball (14-5, 1-2 in West Coast Conference play) hosts conference foe Portland (15-6, 1-2 in WCC play) at Miller Park.
Presently, the Cougars and the Pilots are the West Coast Conference squads with the most wins, although they are only a combined 2-4 in conference play thus far.
The Cougars are led by senior first baseman Brian Hsu (32nd in the nation with a .415 batting average and an on-base percentage of .493).
Additionally, senior catcher Noah Hill has now hit safely in 14 consecutive games for BYU.
Getting the nod on the mound for the Cougars Thursday is right-hander Jordan Wood. Wood brings a 1.76 ERA in five starts this season which have seen him pitch 30.2 innings.
Friday, right-hander Easton Walker gets the call for the Cougars and Saturday’s projected starter, Justin Sterner, leads the squad with 28 strikeouts.
The Pilots have played solid baseball this season as well, as their record suggests.
Their team ERA of 2.98 is good for 22nd in the country and their 51 doubles rank them third nationally. The Pilots have also posted 24 home runs on the season, ranking them 14th in NCAA Division I.
Senior infielder Matt Kelly (5 home runs, 20 RBI) is the Pilots’ offensive leader. Portland’s leading pitchers are redshirt senior right-hander Chris Clements (4-0), freshman right-handed pitcher Peter Allegro (2-0) and junior right-handed pitcher Nate Packard (2-0).
