Friday, Aug. 1, Springfield, Ore. – Thomas Ferroggiaro drove in a career-high five runs and the Knights stayed red-hot by blasting Springfield 12-5 in the opener of their South Division series at the Hamlin Sports Complex.
A rising Santa Clara senior in his second summer in Corvallis, Ferroggiaro (pictured, above) reached safely in all five plate appearances. He was 3-for-3 with a run and two walks and now has 10 RBIs in his last five games.
His previous PR for RBIs was three, against Cowlitz on June 29 this season and against Ridgefield on July 23, 2024. His 30 RBI this summer are second on the team behind Maddox Riske’s (USC) 31.
It was the seventh win in a row and the 10th in the last 11 starts for the streaking Knights (39-14 all, 35-14 WCL, 18-4 second half). They have outscored their opponents 78-17 during their ongoing winning streak and have scored in double figures five times in that span.
Corvallis remained in first place in the South Division’s second-half pennant race, percentage points ahead of first-half champion Portland, and moved closer to clinching home-field advantage in the first round of the divisional playoffs.
Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) was 2-for-7 with a run and two RBIs, Quin Dufort (Portland) was 3-for-4 with two runs, two walks and an RBI in his first start since returning to the club earlier this week, and Brooks Avery (Portland) was 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI.
Corvallis took advantage of five walks and a hit batter to score five times on only one hit in the second inning to surge ahead 5-0. However, the Drifters answered with three runs in the third, only one of which was earned.
The Knights responded with a two-spot in the fourth, scoring on an RBI double by Cole Katayama-Stall (Portland) and Antonio Castro’s run-scoring single to build a 7-3 advantage.
Ferroggiaro added a two-run double in the fifth, stretching the lead to 9-3. Ketelsen smacked an RBI single and Ferroggiaro added a two-run knock in the sixth for a 12-3 spread.
Starter Luke Kalfsbeek (Cal Poly) went a season-long five innings, gave up two unearned runs on five hits and was credited with the win. He struck out four and walked one.
Michael Singleton (George Fox) added two scoreless innings, stranding four Drifters. Dom Tatone (Lewis-Clark State) finished up, surrendering a harmless solo homer in two innings.
The series resumes with Game 2 at 6:35 p.m. on Aug. 2. Troy Cooper of Cal Poly (1-1, 2.50) will start for Corvallis; Springfield’s starter is TBA.
The finale is set for 4:05 p.m. Aug. 3. Linfield’s Zach Johnson (4-1, 3.78) will start for the Knights; Springfield’s starter is TBA.
Corvallis closes the regular season vs. Portland on Aug. 4-6 at Goss Stadium. The divisional playoffs start on Aug. 8.
In other team news, Stanford right-handed pitcher Parker Warner has been shut down for the balance of the summer. He was 1-0, 4.09 in seven games, with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings.