Comeback falls short in 9-6 loss to Pickles

Saturday, June 6, Portland, Ore.  – Portland evened its West Coast League series with the Knights with a 9-6 win before a Walker Stadium crowd of 4,192.

The Knights (6-3, 5-3 WCL) battled back from an early 8-0 hole but could not draw even and their two-game winning streak came to an end. Corvallis prevailed 2-0 in the June 5 series opener.

The Pickles scored twice in the first and then broke out for six runs in the third to build an 8-0 advantage. However, rather than packing it in, the Knights began chipping away at the deficit.

Trey Swygart’s (Portland) RBI single got Corvallis on the board in the sixth. In the seventh, consecutive sacrifice flies by Carter Stewart (Portland) and Ian Draper (Washington) got the Knights within 8-3.

A bases-loaded walk to incoming Cal Poly freshman Max Medina and a fielder’s choice ground out by Jackson Fera (LBCC) cut the lead to 8-5 in the eighth. The Knights had the tying run at the plate, but a strikeout ended the rally.

Meanwhile, relievers Blake Sebastian of Nebraska (1.2) and Jack Galanida of George Fox (2.1) combined to check the Pickles on one run over the next four innings to keep the Knights in contention.

Corvallis trailed 9-5 entering the ninth and two singles and a walk loaded the bases, again bringing the tying run to the plate. One run scored on a force out at second but the next two batters struck out, stranding runners at the corners.

Medina, Swygart and Fera each had two hits and an RBI.

The Knights and Pickles wrap up the series at 6:15 p.m. June 7, also at Walker Stadium. It concludes a season-opening, nine-game road trip for Corvallis.

After two off days, the Knights open their home schedule on June 10 against the Marion Berries, starting at 6:35 p.m. at Goss Stadium.

Box score