Elks edge Corvallis 4-3 to even up series at one game apiece

Saturday, July 29, Bend, Ore.  – Corvallis lost 4-3 to Bend in a West Coast League game at Vince Genna Stadium, evening the South Division series at a game apiece.

Corvallis (37-14, 33-14 WCL, 16-4 second half) remained 1.5 games ahead of second-place Cowlitz (15-6) in the South Division’s second-half playoff race.

Corvallis spotted the Elks four runs in the third inning before mounting their comeback. JC Ng (Pomona-Pitzer) doubled and Tate Shimao (Cal Poly) walked to start the fifth inning; Ng scored on Phoenix Call’s (UCLA) single and Shimao came home on a sacrifice fly by Anson Aroz (Oregon), cutting the deficit in half.

Corvallis drew within 4-3 in the eighth when Aroz scored on a wild pitch after reaching first on an error leading off the inning. However, Ng grounded out to second to end the inning with the tying run at third base.

Frank Camarillo (UC Santa Barbara, pictured above) pitched three scoreless innings of relief, striking out six and walking two, to keep the Knights close. Sam Stem (Gonzaga) doubled and singled and was the only player with more than one hit.

Sunday’s finale starts at 5:05 p.m. Seattle University’s Tucker Grote (1-2, 1.71) will start for the Elks; Corvallis’s starter is TBA.

The Knights are idle on Monday, then conclude the road portion of the regular season at Portland on Tuesday-Thursday. All three games begin at 7:05 p.m. at Walker Stadium.

The final home series of the season is set for Aug. 4-6 against the Ridgefield Raptors. The best-of-3 divisional round of the playoffs starts on Aug. 8.

Box score