Trey Swygart Shines on the Mound and at the Plate as Pilots Run-Rule San Francisco 11-0

PORTLAND, Ore. — Sunday's rubber match was supposed to be a fight. The University of Portland and San Francisco had traded wins on Friday and Saturday, with the Dons grabbing a 5-4 decision on a late sacrifice fly. By the end of the finale, the Pilots had turned a toss-up into a blowout, 11-0, in seven innings, and clinched the series behind Trey Swygart's best day on the mound and a seven-run sixth that ended any suspense.

Portland (22-15, 8-7 West Coast Conference) took its third conference series win of the season. San Francisco fell to 19-18 overall and finished the weekend with a loss that was nothing like the close games earlier in the series.

Setting the Stage

To understand why Sunday mattered, you have to remember how the weekend went. The Pilots opened the series on Friday with a 5-3 win that snapped a four-game losing streak, powered by three RBI from Cole Katayama-Stall. Saturday belonged to the Dons, who built a 4-0 lead, watched Portland tie it on a seventh-inning rally highlighted by a three-run pinch-hit home run from Leo Cote, and then won it on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

So the series was tied at one apiece, and the finale was the deciding game. Portland sent Swygart, who also hit in the lineup, to the mound, and he delivered more than anyone had a right to expect.

Swygart Does Everything

Swygart threw 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing just four hits, walking two, and striking out five. It was a career-high and season-high in innings pitched, and it improved his record to 4-0. Then he came to the plate and helped himself, too. He went 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly that gave Portland a 2-0 lead in the first, and he finished the day with an RBI and two runs scored.

His outing was efficient. San Francisco had just four hits all game and committed one error, and Morgan Codron came in for the final two-thirds of an inning to close the door. The Dons loaded the bases in the seventh, a flicker of a threat, and the Pilots shut it down without allowing a run.

Katayama-Stall Is the Engine Again

At the plate, the usual suspect did the damage. Katayama-Stall went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, a season-high three hits and the only multi-hit performance on the Portland side. His RBI double in the bottom of the first gave the Pilots the early lead. He later came through in the big sixth inning with another RBI hit.

Gage Bruce had a quiet but massive day, driving in three runs on a double, matching his season high. Nolan Miller drove in two runs on a 1-for-2 day, and Brady Bean drove in two, including a deep sacrifice fly to center in the fourth that made it 3-0. Carter Stewart had an RBI hit in the sixth as well.

The Sixth Inning

Portland's two early runs became four in the fourth, when Bean hit that deep sacrifice fly and Miller ripped an RBI single to left. That is where the game sat, 4-0, when the sixth came around.

Then the Pilots took the game over. Seven runs came in the bottom of the sixth, with RBI hits from Stewart, Bruce and Katayama-Stall, one run that scored on an error and an RBI walk from Miller. By the time the inning was over, the scoreboard read 11-0 and the Dons were done.

Turning Point

The sixth. A 4-0 game with a starter rolling is a comfortable spot, but seven runs in one inning turns comfortable into over. The Pilots had an entire lineup working at once, and the run rule sealed it. It is the kind of inning that decides a series.

Stats That Matter

Portland out-hit San Francisco 10-4, drew seven walks to the Dons' three, and its pitchers struck out five. Swygart's four wins are tied for the most on the Pilots this season. The victory means Portland has already matched its total number of wins from last season, with plenty of games left.

Katayama-Stall's three-hit game was a season high, and the series win was Portland's third in conference play. Bruce's three RBI also matched a season high.

What It Means

The Pilots are 22-15, and they are in the mix in a West Coast Conference race that is getting interesting. They have a way of finding offense in bunches, and Sunday was a good example. A series win after a four-game skid, with a bounce-back win and then a shutout, tells you a lot about a group that could easily have folded after Saturday's heartbreak.

Next up for Portland is a neutral-site game against Washington at the Ridgefield Baseball Complex in the NWBCA Classic on Tuesday, April 21, at 6 p.m. For the Dons, the schedule keeps moving and the series loss is something to flush.

The Close

Saturday ended with a one-run loss, despite a 12-strikeout day from Trey Newmann. Sunday ended with Swygart on the mound, Katayama-Stall at the plate and a lineup that never let up. It is a long season, and a game like this makes it feel shorter.

Photo Credit: Aaron Leopold/Undrafted