NightOwls complete rare sweep of Knights

Thursday, June 18, Corvallis, Ore.  – An outstanding start by Colin Nowaczyk went to waste as Nanaimo rallied to defeat Corvallis and sweep their West Coast Series.

A season-high crowd of 1,421 saw Nowaczyk (Nebraska, pictured above) blank the NightOwls on four hits through five innings in his first start of the summer. He allowed four hits, struck out four, and was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.

He left with a 2-0 lead, but Nanaimo struck for three runs in the seventh and another in the ninth to complete the sweep in a brisk 2:18. It won the other two games 11-10 in 11 innings and 11-6.

Corvallis (10-9, 9-9 WCL) scored in the first on an RBI groundout by Carter Stewart (Portland) Trey Swygart’s (Portland) sacrifice fly doubled the lead to 2-0 in the fifth.

The Knights led 2-0 and had a chance to break the game open when they loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning. However, a pop out and two strikeouts ended the threat and Nanaimo surged ahead in its next at-bat.

Ethan Porter (Oregon State) smacked his fourth double of the season and also scored. Corvallis just three hits in losing its fourth game in a row.

The Knights host Edmonton for the first time in history on June 19-21. The highlight of that series is the June 20 Drone Night game, with a special 7:05 p.m. starting time.

Corvallis finishes the homestand with nonleague games against Gunderson Baseball on June 24 and vs. the Corvallis Gerding Construction American Legion team on June 25.

The highlight of the homestand is the June 20 Drone Night game vs. Edmonton, with a special 7:05 p.m. starting time.

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