Brooks Hatch Blog: Portland’s Holcroft Earns WCC Honors

Corvallis, Ore., March 4, 2020 – University of Portland redshirt freshman outfielder Jake Holcroft (2019, pictured above), was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 25-March 1.

The 2019 West Coast League batting champion went 11-for-16 (.688) to lead the Pilots to a four-game sweep of Stephen F. Austin in a series played at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield, Wash. He had two doubles, a homer, four RBIs, and seven runs scored.

Jake was 3-for-4 with a run in a 3-2 win on Feb. 27, then went 4-for-5 with a homer and three runs as the Pilots rallied for an 8-7 victory in the first game of a Feb. 29 double-header. In Game 2, he was 2-for-3 with a double; ih the March 1 finale, he doubled, singled and scored twice in a 17-1 win.

 
He is hitting .532 (25-47) in 12 games, with two homers and 11 RBIs. The Pilots defeated Washington 3-1 on Tuesday to improve to 11-1, their best start since 2010.

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Right-hander Alex Williams (2019) of Stanford was nominated for Pacific-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for Feb. 24-March 1 but was not selected. It’s the third week in a row that Williams was nominated for the award, which he earned in Week 1.

He is 2-1, 0.51 in three starts, with 18 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Alex has allowed just one earned run.

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We have released our promotional schedule for 2020, and it’s a good one. Please click here for complete details.

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Some alumni news out of spring training:

• Cleveland sent OF Steven Kwan (2015) to minor-league camp on Feb. 28. He played at OSU.
• Cleveland sent pitcher Dakody Clemmer (2015) to minor-league camp on Feb. 28. He played at Arizona Western College.
• Kansas City sent catcher Nate Esposito (2012) to minor-league camp on Feb. 26. He played at OSU and at Concordia.
• The Dodgers assigned LHP Ben (Wetzler) Holmes to minor-league camp on Feb. 23. He played at OSU.

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Our 2020 schedule is finalized. We will open the home season against the Portland Sea Dogs on June 2 on Weyerhaeuser Science, Engineering and Aart Day at Goss Stadium. For our complete 2020 schedule, please click here.

The Knights set a franchise record for total attendance in 2019 by drawing 59,357 fans to Goss Stadium in 36 regular-season and playoff games. We averaged 1,721 fans per regular-season game, and 1,071 fans for the four playoff games.

Thanks to the best fans in the West Coast League.

The WCL All-Star Game is scheduled for July 20 at Paul Thomas Sr. Field in Wenatchee. New AppleSox head coach Ian Sanderson and staff will coach the North Division’s team and the 2019 West Coast League champion Corvallis Knights coaching staff led by Brooke Knight will coach the South Division. For more details, please click here.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

The Bellingham Bells have added three players from Western Oregon to their 2020 roster; please click here for more details on that story, from Our Sports Central. They have also signed two other players, including a former Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year. Please click here for more details on that story, from Our Sports Central. 

Wenatchee has added a second wave of signees for the 2020 season, including hometown pitcher Jared Rubash. Please click here for more details on that story, from Our Sports Central. 

New Walla Walla skipper Jeff Cirillo is ready for his first season with the Sweets. Please click here for more on the former MLB veteran from WCL commissioner Rob Neyer.

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That’s all for today. See you soon!