Pickles finish series sweep of Knights, 14-0

Thursday, June 5, Portland, Ore. – Portland completed a season-opening series sweep of the Knights on June 5 with a 14-0 West Coast League victory before a crowd of 3,782 at Walker Stadium.

Corvallis (1-3 all, 0-3 WCL) was held to six hits and was shut out for the second game in a row for the first time since the 2023 season.

Starting pitcher Chase Olson (Nebraska, pictured above) allowed two runs on four hits over four innings, with no walks and four strikeouts.

Incoming Oregon State freshman right fielder Joshua Proctor was the only Knight with more than one hit, as he singled in the second and fourth innings.

Shut out for seven innings, the Knights loaded the bases with one out in the eighth on consecutive singles by pinch-hitter Quin Dufort (Portland), third baseman Elliot Brown (Lane CC) and shortstop Braeden Mondeau (Hawaii Hilo). However, the next two batters struck out and the trio were stranded, ending their best scoring threat.

The Pickles (6-0 WCL), who joined the WCL in 2018, had never won consecutive games against the Knights before this week. The Knights still lead the all-time series 29-10.

The Knights have lost three games in a row for the first time since July 4-7, 2023, when they dropped two games at Kelowna and one at Cowlitz. They had not been shut out in successive games since June 9-11, 2023, at Kamloops.

The Knights look to change their luck on June 6-8, when they face the Bend Elks in a three-game South Division series at Vince Genna Stadium. The June 6-7 games begin at 6:35 p.m.; the June 8 finale is set for 5:05 p.m.

TCU right-hander Trey Neumann will make his season debut for Corvallis in the opener, opposed by Iowa Western CC righty Finn Edwards (0-0, 0.00).

The second game will feature Long Beach State righty Jake Fields making his initial start against Bend righty Erik Poudziunas (1-0, 0.00) of Michigan.

Corvallis righty Sam Coffman (0-0, 4.50) of Umpqua CC will oppose Bend righty John-Paul Sauer of Tulane (1-0, 1.80) in the finale.

The Knights home opener against the Springfield Drifters is set for 6:35 p.m. June 11 at Goss Stadium.

Box score