Thursday, June 19, Longview, Wash. – The Knights broke a 2-2 deadlock in the eighth inning and edged Cowlitz 3-2 at David Story Field to sweep the South Division series from the Black Bears.
Gavin Brubaker’s (NW Nazarene, pictured above) two-out single scored pinch-runner Brooks Avery (LBCC) with the winning run. Avery ran for Xavier Rios (CSUN), who was hit by a pitch leading off the inning; he was sacrificed to second by Kellen Segel (LBCC) and then stole third.
Corvallis (9-8 all, 8-8 WCL) has now won three in a row and 4 of its last 5 West Coast League games; it topped Cowlitz 9-6 on June 17 and 8-1 on June 18. The Knights have risen to third place in the South Division, with 11 games remaining in the first-half pennant race.
Brubaker was 2-for-4 with two RBIs to up his average to .487, best in the WCL by 52 points. He was 7-for-13 in the series, with five RBIs; he has at least one hit in all 10 games he’s played in, with five multi-hit games.
Segel also had two hits.
Corvallis erased a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the third on RBI singles by Blake Wilson (Washington) and Brubaker. Cowlitz scored in the bottom half, creating a 2-2 tie that lasted until the decisive eighth.
Starter Zack Johnson (Linfield) turned in a strong effort, allowing three hits and two runs over five innings. He struck out two.
Sam Coffman (Umpqua CC) added two scoreless innings of one-hit relief, with two strikeouts, and got the win. Troy Cooper (Cal Poly) earned a two-inning save by retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced, stranding the tying run at second base in the ninth.
The Knights now host the Ridgefield Raptors in a South Division series on June 20-22.
June 20 is Forestry Night, starting at 6:35 p.m. The first 250 fans will receive a Lil’ King mini-bat, courtesy of Starker Forests. The starting pitcher for the Knights is TBA; Gonzaga righty Landon Hood (3-0, 3.25) is the probable for the Black Bears.
June 21 is State Farm Dash for Cash night, with a special 7:05 p.m. starting time. The game will be paused in the fourth inning so kids age 12 and under can come on to the field and chase $1,000 in cash.
The presenting State Farm agents are Monica Baez, Jim Kuhlman, Severn Thomas, Suzanne Roppe and Jeff Mills. The starting pitcher for the Knights is TBA; Oregon State lefty Max Fraser (0-0, 0.00) is the probable for the Black Bears.
June 22 is the Corvallis Clinic Foundation’s annual Strike Out Cancer Night, starting at 5:05 p.m. It supports Project H.E.R., a comprehensive oncology support group for cancer patients.
The Knights will help the Marion Berries inaugurate WCL baseball in Salem on June 23 when the teams play a 6:35 p.m. game at Chemeketa Community College. The Knights then head to Yakima for a three-game set with the Pippins on June 24-26.
In other team news, the Knights have added left-handed pitcher Tanner Douglas of Oregon State to the active roster. He joins the team starting with the June 20 Ridgefield series.
The South Medford High School grad was 1-1 in 14 games in 2025, with 20 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. He played at Portland in 2024 and was honorable-mention all-West Coast Conference with a 4-0, 3.34 record and 10 saves in 23 games.
Also, 10-day signees Aidan O’Malley, Elliot Brown, Sam Giansante and Jake Holmes were released. They are free to sign with any other team.