ON THE BLUFF SPORTS
Etzel Field
A stadium you’re proud to call home GEOFF LOOMIS ’94, the Pilots’ baseball coach since 2016, admits that he’ll always have a soft spot for Pilot Stadium, the field he played on while attending University of Portland. “When I came here to play baseball in 1990, the stadium, at that point, was only within five years of being brand new,” Loomis says. “In the Northwest, and at that time, I would say that our stadium was one of the best. I remember that it had an influence on my decision to come here.” Over time, the Pacific Northwest elements we’re all familiar with—driving rain, howling winds, and the occasional dusting
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PORTLAND
of snow—began to take its toll on the field that Loomis excelled on from 1990–92. “The stadium was one strong wind from blowing over,” Loomis says. “It had served its purpose. Its time had come.” Enter Joe Etzel Field, which might be one of the nicest baseball stadiums in the West Coast Conference, and possibly the West Coast—a ballpark that’s undergone several development phases over the last eight years to become the gem it is today. The Pilots officially opened Joe Etzel Field on Feb. 21, 2021, with a doubleheader against Seattle University. The Pilots won
