Saturday, Aug. 2, Springfield, Ore. – Blake Wilson went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs and the Knights handled Springfield 6-3 in Game 2 to capture their South Division series at the Hamlin Sports Complex.
A junior-to-be at Washington, Wilson (pictured above) also scored twice and worked a walk while raising his average to a team-leading .339. He has a six-game hitting streak and is batting .423 (11-26) in that span, with six RBIs.
It was the eighth straight win and the 11th in the last 12 games for the red-hot Knights (40-14 all, 36-14 WCL, 19-4 second half). They have outscored their opponents 84-19 during their ongoing winning streak.
Corvallis remained in first place in the South Division’s second-half pennant race, percentage points ahead of first-half champion Portland. The Knights have clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the divisional playoffs, which will begin on the road on Aug. 8.
Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a steal, his 33rd of the summer, a team record. Catcher Xavier Rios (CSUN) was 3-for-4 with a run.
The Knights trailed 3-0 early before exploding for five runs in the fifth inning to surge ahead 5-3. Brooks Avery (Portland) had an RBI groundout to get Corvallis on the board; Wilson followed with a two-run double to tie the score 3-3.
Ketelsen then hit an RBI double to score Wilson with the go-ahead run. Ketelsen then came home for a 5-3 advantage when the Drifters erred on a ground ball to first base.
Wilson doubled and scored on a Ketelsen single in the seventh inning to increase the lead to 6-3.
Corvallis starter Troy Cooper (Cal Poly) gave up three runs in the first two innings but then blanked the Drifters until being pulled after four innings. He struck out one and walked two.
Incoming Oregon State freshman Tyler Bellerose worked the next four innings and kept the Drifters off the board before being replaced after the eighth inning. Bellerose got the win, improving to 3-0 on the season; he spaced four hits, with one strikeout.
Chance Wallace (Utah Valley) struck out the side in the ninth on 13 pitches for his second save.
The series finale is set for 4:05 p.m. Aug. 3. Linfield’s (4-1, 3.78) Zach Johnson will start for the Knights; Blake Stavros of Bushnell (1-1, 8.82) will start for Springfield.
Corvallis closes the regular season vs. Portland on Aug. 4-6 at Goss Stadium. Van Froling (UCSB), Chase Olson (Nebraska) and Trey Swygard (Portland) are the projected starters for the Knights.
The divisional playoffs start on Aug. 8, against a to-be-determined opponent. The Knights will open the best-of-3 series on the road and host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) on Aug. 9-10.
The divisional finals are set for Aug. 12. The WCL championship is Aug. 14; the team with the best overall record will host.