Duty Homers Twice as Knights Pound Elks, Take Series

BEND, Ore. – Catcher Jace Duty of Chemeketa CC (pictured, above) homered twice and had four RBIs and the Knights scored nine times in the third inning to pummel Bend 17-6 in the rubber game of a West Coast Conference series at Vince Genna Stadium.

Right fielder Jordan Qsar homered, doubled twice and drove in four runs for Corvallis. It was the fifth homer in the last six games for the rising sophomore at Pepperdine.

He is batting .429 (10-23) over that span, with five homers, four doubles and 10 RBIs, has raised his average from .125 to .355, and now leads the WCL in homers.

Corvallis hit five homers and five doubles as it roughed up four Bend pitchers for 15 hits. The Knights (8-2 all, 7-2 WCL) finished their season-opening nine-game road trip with a 7-2 record and now lead the Elks (5-4 WCL) by two games in the South Division.

The 17 runs were the most scored in one game by either team in the 91 WCL contests between the teams, dating back to the 2005 season. The old mark was 15 runs, in a 15-2 Corvallis victory on Aug. 5, 2013.

The Knights’ all-time scoring record was set in an 18-3 victory at Klamath Falls on July 4, 2014. They also hit five homers in that game, a team record they tied on Tuesday.

The Knights sent 14 batters to the plate in the decisive third inning. Qsar had a three-run double and Dillan Shrum (Nevada-Reno) added a two-run double to spark the uprising.

Duty hit a two-run homer in the second inning, a solo shot leading off the sixth, and drove in four runs. Matt Kelly (Portland) homered, doubled, singled and drove in two; Luke Wilkinson (NW Missouri State) also homered and Tyler Villaroman (San Francisco) and Tanner Cantwell (Treasure Valley CC) had two hits apiece.

Lefty Jordan Horak (Portland) allowed two earned runs and six hits in five innings and improved to 2-0. He had four strikeouts.

The Knights open their home WCL schedule at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday against the Port Angeles Lefties, the WCL’s newest franchise. Lefty Cole Johnson (0-0, 0.00) of Pacific Lutheran is the scheduled starter for Corvallis.

It will be 99.9 KRKT Opening Night; the first 500 fans will receive a mini WCL Championship Trophy. General admission tickets for seniors on Wednesdays are $2. Wednesdays are also Spindrift Wine Cellars nights; fans can enjoy specially priced wine.

The Port Angeles series continues through Friday. The Knights then conclude their opening homestand by hosting Cowlitz on Saturday through Tuesday.

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