Drifters sink Knights 10-1 in series opener

Friday, July 10, Springfield, Ore.  – The Knights left their offense in Portland and fell 10-1 to the Drifters in the opener of their South Division series.

Corvallis (21-16, 18-16 WCL, 5-2 second half) erupted for five homers and 30 runs in winning 2 of 3 against the Pickles at tiny Walker Stadium. However, their bats fell silent at the larger Hamlin Sports Complex, as they were limited to six hits.

The Drifter thus snapped a 10-game home losing streak to the Knights. Their last home victory in the all-time series came on June 30, 2022, in their first season in the West Coast League.

Newcomer Diego Cruz, a portal transfer to Oregon State from Miami of Ohio, singled, stole second and third and then scored on a wild pitch to put the Knights up 1-0 in the third.

At that point, things quickly escalated downhill. Springfield scored 10 unanswered runs, aided by Knights’ control problems and defensive miscues.

Springfield capitalized on three walks to score twice in the third, driving incoming Stanford freshman starter Bryce Hill from the game. He allowed only two hits and had five strikeouts, but walked four, two of whom scored.

Defensive lapses gave the Drifters two more runs in the fourth, pushing their advantage to 4-1. More defensive problems opened the floodgates for five more runs in the sixth.

Ethan Porter’s (Oregon State) triple was the lone extra-base hit. Cruz was 2-for-3 and the only player with more than one hit.

Ryan Severns (UCSB) was 1-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to seven games. He is 16-for-31 (.516) in that span, with a homer, five doubles and six RBIs.

Game 2 of the series is set for 6:35 p.m. on July 11. Incoming Oregon State freshman Neal Burtis (0-0, 10.00) is the scheduled starter for the Knights. UCSB rising sophomore Josh Jannicelli (0-1, 4.32) will start the July 12 finale, set for 4:05 p.m.

Their next home game is a July 14 rematch with Gunderson Baseball. They edged Gunderson 2-1 at Goss on June 24.

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