Springfield stymies Knights again to capture series win

Wednesday, June 19, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights offensive woes continued as they were shut out by Springfield for the second game in a row in a 6-0 loss to the Drifters before a Goss Stadium crowd of 1,053.

Springfield blanked Corvallis (14-3, 13-3) 2-0 on June 18 in the series opener. Corvallis has now gone 18 consecutive innings without scoring, dating back to the ninth inning of a June 16 game with Port Angeles.

Shortstop Bake Wilson (Washington, pictured above) and Quin Dufort were 2-for-4 and were the lone Knights with more than one hit. Luke Lavin (Stanford) doubled for their only extra-base hit.

Corvallis had baserunners in every inning except the first and ninth but was unable to come up with a key hit to end the scoring drought. It left 10 runners on base, five in scoring position.

Reliever Grant Cleavinger (Nebraska) struck out three straight Drifters after inheriting a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth inning to earn Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors.

It was the first series loss of the summer for the Knights after victories over Cowlitz, Yakima Valley, Bend, Portland and Port Angeles.

The series concludes on June 20 with Embrace Baldness Night. The first 50 bald people through the gates will receive a free beanie to keep their heads warm. Utah’s Payton Riske (1-0, 2.13) is the projected starter for the Knights; Taylor Langworthy (0-1, 6.42) of Clark College goes for Springfield.

The teams play again at Hamlin Sports Complex in Springfield at 6:35 p.m. June 21. Oregon State redshirt freshman James DeCremer is the scheduled starter for Corvallis.

Game 2 of the series is set for 7:05 p.m. June 22 back at Goss Stadium; Jackson Flora (0-0, 0.00) of UC Santa Barbara is the probable starter for Corvallis. The series returns to Springfield on June 23 for the 4:05 p.m. finale.

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