Bullpen closes out 9-6 win over Springfield

Sunday, July 5, Corvallis, Ore.  – The Knights bullpen shut down Springfield over the final 3.1 innings and Corvallis completed a sweep of Springfield with a 9-6 victory at Goss Stadium.

Reliever Nate Marshall (Eastern Illinois) ended a Springfield rally by getting the final out of the sixth; he added a perfect seventh. Connor Markham (Oregon) dealt a 1-2-3 eighth and Kellen Segel (LBCC) spaced two seeing-eye singles and earned his fourth save with a scoreless ninth.

Corvallis (19-14, 16-14 WCL, 3-0 second half) solidified its hold on third place in the South Division. It finished a six-game homestand with a 4-2 mark.

Catcher Carter Stewart (Portland, pictured above) was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs to earn Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors. Shortstop Ryan Severns (UCSB) had two hits and scored twice.

The Knights led 8-1 in the sixth when the Drifters scored five times with two outs. However, Marshall, Markham and Segel shut them down the rest of the way.

The Knights are idle on July 6. They begin a 6-day road trip that includes series at Portland (July 7-9) and at Springfield (July 10-12). Their next home game is a July 14 rematch with Gunderson Baseball; they edged Gunderson 2-1 at Goss on June 24.

The crowd of 1,316 raised the season total to 26,807 in 18 home dates. That’s an average of 1,489 per outing.

Corvallis also announced numerous roster moves, effective July 6.

Infielder Berkley Reents (George Fox), originally a 10-day signee, rejoined the club on July 5. He hit .282 in 11 games (11-39) with three RBIs in his first go-round with the team.

Incoming OSU transfer Diego Cruz, a second baseman who portaled from Miami of Ohio, joins the team in Portland on July 7. He hit .385, with a 1.082 OPS, seven homers, 47 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.

The Caroline, P.R. native was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year. He was also first-team MAC and a member of the All-Defensive team.

Former 10-day signee Jackson Fera (LBCC) also rejoins the team on July 6. He hit .243 (9-37) in 11 games, with six RBIs.

The Knights have also bolstered their pitching staff with the addition of incoming Feather River JC righty Jinki Tomita, incoming Seattle University lefty James Colella and incoming Maryland-Eastern Shore righty Alejandro Cruz, Diego’s younger brother.

The 5-8, 180-pound Tomita pitched at Grant High School in Portland. He was a 6A all-state selection and helped the Generals reach the quarterfinals in the 2026 state playoffs.

Colella is a 5-9, 165-pounder from Woodbridge, Ontario. He pitched for the Bill Crowthers Secondary School and for the Ontario Royals travel team.

Cruz is 6-4, 186, and graduated from Leadership Christian Academy.

Two-year Knights vet Mac Zawistoski (Eastern Illinois) is being shut down for the summer. The lefty reliever was 0-0, 2.61 in 10 games, with a save and 14 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

He had a 3.2-inning save against Springfield on July 4 in his final outing. He was 2-2, 1.03 in 14 games in 2025, 24 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.

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