Portland Pickles hoping to become back-to-back WCL champions

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Ask the Portland Pickles one word to describe their team this season and you’ll get a few fun ones.

Electric. Unforgettable. Zany.

Those were a few submissions. None were more fun, though than outfielder Tony Otis’ contribution.

“I’d pick cocky. I think in baseball you really want to believe in yourself, so I think our team is really cocky, and I think it helps us win,” said Otis.

The cocky Pickles have certainly won a lot this year.

Actually, at a historic clip, as they are now at 45 wins overall after setting the WCL regular season record for wins at 43 and beating the Marion Berries in a best-of-three series last weekend.

“It’s something special,” said Tanner Griffith. “You can say you’re a part of a team that has accomplished nothing that other people can do and just being able to win for these coaches and these players is something awesome.”

The team has a good number of returners from last year’s WCL Championship-winning squad, which has been key in terms of helping set the Pickles’ mindset.

“Summer ball can be treated as a thing where you just come out here, and we just play. I mean, obviously that’s the goal. We all want to get better, but I think we all have a goal of we want to come out here and do something special and that’s making a playoff push and getting in the postseason,” said outfielder Josh Schleichardt.

The team’s culture has also been set by a fanbase that— just like the players on the field—does not let off the gas.

“Once you do it, you want to play in front of it every night because it just fires you up,” said Griffith. “It just makes you want to play to the best of your abilities.”

There’s no doubt that both parties will bring the best out of each other come Tuesday night.
“It’s going to be electric in here. It’s hard to hear, it’s hard to talk. It’s electric,” said head coach Mark Magdaleno.

The Pickles host the Corvallis Knights on Tuesday night at 7:45 p.m. on KOIN+, with the winner advancing to the WCL championship game.