University of Washington
Portland
Huskies Look To Ground Pilots On Dollar Dog Night
March 02, 2020 | Baseball
PORTLAND AT WASHINGTON
Time:Β 6 p.m.
Location:Β Husky Ballpark
Promotions: $1 Hotdog Night
Live StreamΒ |Β Live Stats
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Probable Pitching Matchup:
UW β RHP Gabe SmithΒ (1-0, 0.00) vs.Β PORT β RHP Morgan White (0-0, 0.00)
SEATTLE β The Huskies (7-3) return to action on Tuesday for theΒ inaugural 2020 Dollar Dog NightΒ at Husky Ballpark with a 6:00 p.m. tilt against their I-5 rivals from the south, the Portland Pilots (10-1). While the Huskies have won seven of their last eight games, the Pilots are scorching hot and have won seven-straight games.
Washington is coming off its second-consecutive series win, taking the opener and finale against UC Irvine. Portland is coming off a four-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin.
In what should be a bullpen day, the Huskies will start junior Gabe Smith, who has not given up a hit or allowed a run over six innings in five relief appearances. His lone base runner was a walk he issued in the first game of the series versus UC Irvine on Friday.
Smith has been a key cog of UW's formidable bullpen that has been outstanding in 46 innings of combined relief work. The Huskies' pen is 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA, holding opponents to a .186 batting average. They have struck out 48 hitters, walked 19 and allowed just 11 earned runs.
Tickets for the game can be purchased online or at the box office. The game will be streamed via the Pac-12.com video platforms.
The Huskies wrap up their eight-game homestand with four games against Utah Valley State, March 6-8 with Saturday being a double-header.
UW HISTORY VS. PORTLAND
UW holds an all-time series advantage, 97-49-1, over Portland. The Huskies beat the Pilots 8-3 in their last meeting on April 23, 2019 in Portland. UW scored in each of the first five innings to erase a 3-1 deficit after the first inning. Leo Nierenberg was the winning pitcher that night, and of returnees, Rollie Nichols had a big night at the plate, going 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. The last time the teams met in Seattle was May 15, 2018 and the Pilots won that game 6-4 behind a grand slam by Ryan Hoogerwerf. The Huskies went 11-2 after that loss to propel them to their College World Series run.
UW GEMS FROM THE DIAMOND
β’ 300 wins: Sunday's win was the 300th for Lindsay Meggs as the head coach at Washington. He is the third UW coach to reach 300 wins, joining Ken Knutson (559) and Bob MacDonald (384). Meggs is now 300-266-1 in 11 years at Washington and 915-573-5 in 28 seasons overall.
β’ Improved Defense: The UW defense committed five errors in the first two games of the year but over the next eight games have made an error in just two games β three total. The Huskies .978 fielding percentage currently ranks fourth in the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies are 7-0 when they commit one or fewer errors.
β’ Second Inning Magic: The second inning has been magical for the Huskies' offense in 2020. So far, they have scored 20 runs in the inning and had multiple runs in the inning in six out of 10 games. They have also had great success in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring seven runs in the eighth and nine in the ninth, but have combined for 13 runs in all other innings.
β’ Strikeout to Walk, Win to Loss ratio: In Washington's seven wins, Husky pitchers have struck out 72 batters and walked 18 batters (4 to 1 ratio). In the Huskies' three losses, the pitchers have struck out 32 batters and walked 23.
β’ Ward Stolen Base Watch: Braiden Ward enters the week in sole possession of seventh all-time on UW's career stolen bases top-10 list with 52. He is one shy of tying Jeb Best (53) for sixth and needs three to enter the top-five list and tie Derrin Doty at 55. Β The junior currently leads the Pac-12 with seven stolen bases and is attempting to be the first Conference player to lead the league three times.
β’ Pac-12 Stats Leaders: Besides Braiden Ward leading the Pac-12 in stolen bases, Stevie Emanuels leads the Conference with 30 strikeouts and 12 caught looking. Davis Delorefice is tied for the Pac-12 lead with three saves.
β’ Top-10 Appearance List: Last Friday's start for Stevie EmanuelsΒ marked the 68th appearance of his UW career and moved him into a tie for 10th all-time in UW history.
β’ Two-Way You Say: Davis Delorefice has three saves in three opportunities and has made three starts in the outfield. He is UW's first legitimate two-way player since Brian Pearl in 2010.
β’ Fresh Faces:Β Fifteen Huskies have made their UW debuts in 2020. Of the 15, nine are true freshmen, six are transfers.
