PREVIEW: Pacific at Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (Interstat) — The Pacific Tigers (22-25-1) visit the Portland Pilots (25-24) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Joe Etzel Field. The forecast calls for 62 degrees and cloudy skies.

Pacific enters the three-game series coming off an 11-11 tie with San Diego on Sunday. The Tigers have split their last four games and sit just below .500 overall. Thursday marks the start of a crucial West Coast Conference set that continues Friday and Saturday.

Outfielder Blaine French is Pacific’s top offensive threat. In his last 10 games, French has a home run, three RBIs and multiple hits against San Diego. He went 1 for 2 with a homer and three RBIs in the tie Sunday. French also drove in runs against Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara earlier this month. He will be a key bat in the middle of the lineup.

Portland (25-24) lost 8-3 at Oregon State on Tuesday. The Pilots have dropped three straight overall (Interstat) — all by multiple runs (Interstat) — and four of their last five.

Right-hander Kaden Starr is a player to watch on the mound for Portland. In his last outing at Oregon State, Starr threw 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing no hits. He has been effective in relief recently, striking out one batter over 0.2 innings against the Beavers on May 5. The Pilots will need strong pitching to slow a Pacific offense that scored 18 runs on May 9 and 15 on May 2.

The Interstat game simulator projects a 6-3 victory for Pacific.

Notes: This is the first meeting of the season between the teams. … Portland’s Cole KatayamaStall hit a home run and drove in two runs Tuesday. … Pacific’s Jake Tandy went 4 for 5 with two RBIs in the tie Sunday.