Dufort’s big night leads Knights over Port Angeles, wins series

Saturday, June 15, Corvallis, Ore. – Corvallis scored three times in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 standoff in a 6-3 West Coast League victory over Port Angeles before a chilled crowd of 1,318 at Goss Stadium.

A two-out single by incoming University of Portland first baseman Quin Dufort (pictured, above) drove in the final two runs to cap the rally. The go-ahead run had scored moments earlier on a bases-loaded wild pitch.

Dufort was 3-for-3 with two RBIs, two walks and a run scored, and reached safely in all five plate appearances. The Portland native was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.

Corvallis (13-1, 12-1 WCL) extended its winning streak to seven games in a row and won its fifth series in five opportunities. It remained 3.5 games ahead of Portland (8-4) in the South Division’s first-half pennant race. The champion of the 27-game first half automatically advances to the postseason playoffs.

Left fielder Kasen Khansarinia (UCLA) was 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Center fielder Brandon Cabrera (Lewis-Clark State) was 3-for-5 and scored the winning run.

USC right-hander Garren Rizzo pitched a scoreless eighth inning and earned the victory in his Knights debut. Bransen Kuehl (Utah) closed with a scoreless ninth to earn his second save.

Four Knight relievers held the Lefties to one run over the final six innings. The bullpen has permitted just one run in their last 22.2 innings, dating back to a 10-4 win at Portland on June 12.

The June 16 Father’s Day series finale begins at 1:05 p.m. The first 500 fans receive a Knights poster schedule; the first 200 receive LBCChat. Nine $1,000 scholarships will also be given away. Jackson Flora of UCSB is set to make his season debut for the Knights; Colby Scheuber (0-1, 45.00) of Salem International University will start for Port Angeles.

In other team news, Oregon State rising sophomore right-handed Lair Palmer has joined the club. A 6-foot-6, 207-pounder from Golden High School in Golden, Colo., Palmer was 1-2 with a 14.29 ERA in 5.2 innings over six games with the Beavers in 2024, with five strikeouts.

Also, incoming Portland freshman Coleman Hollabaugh will miss the rest of the summer because of a hip injury sustained in the June 11 game at Portland. He hit .071 in four games, with a run.

Right-handed pitcher Ethan Foley of Ohlone College has left the team with the completion of his 10-day contract. He was 2-0, 0.00 in two appearances, with 11 strikeouts in eight innings. He last pitched in the June 11 game at Portland.

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