Boisvert hits, pitches Corvallis to series win over Black Bears

Sunday, June 20, Corvallis, Ore. – Just call him Braden “Double Duty” Boisvert.

The future Oregon State Beaver (pictured above, left) hammered a two-run, go-ahead homer in the eighth inning and earned a save in the ninth to power the Knights over Cowlitz 6-4 in the finale of their West Coast League series.

The victory enabled the Knights (8-4) to take the series against their longtime rivals before an appreciative crowd of 1,103 at Goss Stadium. They moved into a first-place tie with Ridgefield in the South Division.

A 6-foot-2, 210-pound righty from Seward County (Kansas) Community College, Boisvert hit a two-run homer in the eighth to give Corvallis a 6-4 lead. He then stranded two inherited runners and got the final two outs of the game for his third save.

“My mindset was to throw strikes and get those last two outs,” he said. “I have guys behind make who make plays.”

Corvallis trailed 3-0 early and was still behind 4-3 entering the home eighth when Nick Vogt (UC Santa Barbara) reached second on a one-out single and a stolen base. Following a strikeout, Vogt scored the tying run on Tanner Smith’s (OSU) two-strike single into left field, his second hit of the game.

Boisvert then clubbed a one-strike pitch over the taller portion of the left-field fence for his fourth homer of the summer, tying him with Will Chambers of Ridgefield for the WCL lead. He is second in the WCL with 14 RBIs.

“I’m being aggressive, sometimes a little too aggressive but this time it worked out,” he said. “It’s really good to get the win in front of this great crowd.”

Travis Bazzana (OSU, pictured above, right) slammed a two-run homer to deep right-center field to get the Knights on the scoreboard in the third inning. Jake Hoskins (LBCC) drew the Knights within 4-3 in the seventh with an RBI groundout.

Chase Walter (Cal Poly) and Ethan Ross (Washington State) combined for three innings of scoreless relief, with three strikeouts. Walter got the win.

The opening homestand concludes at 6:35 p.m. Monday with a nonleague game against the Northwest Star Academy of Ridgefield, Wash. WCL action resumes on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series at the Portland Pickles.

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