Castro’s big night leads Knights by Elks

Saturday, July 5, Corvallis, Ore.  – The Knights jacked three 2-run doubles in the sixth inning and thrashed Bend 9-0 to capture the series against their longtime West Coast Leaue rivals.

It was the seventh consecutive WCL victory for the Knights (22-10 all, 19-10 WCL, 2-0 second half), who won the series opener 6-3 the night before. Corvallis has won nine in a row against all competition; their last loss was at Yakima Valley back on June 25.

Corvallis held a tenuous 2-0 lead heading into the decisive sixth inning. Second baseman Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara) doubled that advantage by slicing a two-run, opposite-field double that spun into the left-field corner.

Following a walk, first baseman Trey Swygart (Portland) followed Ferroggiaro’s example and sliced another two-run, opposite-field double into the left-field corner for a 6-0 advantage.

Four batters later, right fielder Antonio Castro (Cal Poly, pictured above) slapped yet another opposite-field double to plate the final two runs of the rally, stretching the margin to 8-0.

Castro was the hitting star for the Knights, going 3-for-4 with a triple, double, single, a run and two RBIs. He also threw out an Elk trying to stretch a single into a double and earned Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors.

Blake Wilson (Washington) singled, had an RBI and scored. Mason Riske’s (USC) two-out RBI single in the first inning gave the Knights a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish. Jakob Marquez (Lewis-Clark State) had a sacrifice fly in the eighth to conclude the scoring.

Starting pitcher Trey Newmann (Portland) blanked the Elks on three hits over five innings, with nine strikeouts, and got the win. He was at his best in the fifth, when he escaped a jam with Elks at second and third with a strikeout and a fly out to center.

Corvallis starters have combined to allow just one run in 11 innings through the first two games of the South Division series. The July 4 starter, J’Shawn Unger (Iowa Western CC) gave up just one run in six innings.

Nate Marshall (Eastern Illinois) added two shutout innings before handing the ball over to Tanner Douglas (Oregon State), who added a scoreless eighth. Luke Kalfsbeek (Cal Poly) closed out the ninth. The four pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts.

The probables for the 5:05 p.m. July 6 finale are John-Paul Sauer of Tulane (3-1, 2.45) for Bend and Zach Johnson of Linfield (1-1, 4.00) for Corvallis.

Corvallis then heads to South Division foe Ridgefield on July 8-10; the road trip concludes at Walla Walla on July 11-13. Corvallis swept a three-game series from Ridgefield at Goss Stadium on June 20-22; all the wins were by one run and two were walk-offs.

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