Knights to face longtime rival Bend in first round of WCL playoffs

Thursday, Aug. 7, Corvallis, Ore. – Founding West Coast League members Bend and Corvallis will meet up for the seventh time in the first round of the post-season since the premier summer circuit in Western North America was established in 2005.

This is the first playoff match-up between the Elks and Knights since 2015 when Cadyn Grenier’s Bend club swept Nick Madrigal’s Corvallis squad in two games. That summer, the Elks captured their first and only WCL title.

Corvallis leads the all-time post-season series, 4-2, sweeping in 2014 and taking series two games to one in 2011, 2009 and 2008. Bend swept the Knights in 2010.

The Knights have enjoyed home field advantage in every series except 2015 and are 3-3 in opening games at Vince Genna Stadium.

Corvallis finished the season strong sweeping series versus Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and Springfield before closing with a series win at home against the Portland Pickles, the owners of the league’s top mark at 43-11.

Portland set a new WCL wins record this summer and captured the South first-half title. The Knights wrapped their season with a 39-15 overall record, the second-best mark in the league, and clinched the second half South title (22-5) with a 12-6 win vs. the Pickles on the final day of the regular season.

The Elks took two of three from the Cowlitz Black Bears at home to finish the season 28-26 and to clinch the #3-seed in the playoffs.

Corvallis is led by dynamic two-way player Brock Ketelsen from Scotts Valley, California. The incoming freshman at Stanford led the league in stolen bases with 35, was second in runs scored with 48, second in triples with 3 and was third in the WCL with an OBP of .467.

Ketelsen played an extraordinary center field and hit .328 with 2 HR and 27 RBI. Out of the bullpen, the left-hander struck out 19 over 8.2 innings and went 1-0 with a save.

Knights’ returnees Blake Wilson of Washington and Thomas Ferroggiaro of Santa Clara were team leaders with Wilson sporting the club’s top average at .348, third best in the WCL, and Ferroggiaro topping Corvallis in RBIs with 36. Wilson, a junior at UW, led the Knights in doubles with 9. Both Blake and Thomas were outstanding in the field, Wilson shining at shortstop and the outfield and Ferroggiaro, a senior for the Broncos, at second base.

Corvallis catching has been stellar, with sophomore Ian Fernandez of UC Santa Barbara and redshirt sophomore Xavier Rios of Cal State Northridge rotating as starters. Fernandez hit .283 with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 13 RBIs. Rios batted .252 with 5 doubles, 3 homers, 20 walks and 20 RBIs.

University of Portland sophomore left-handed hitting sluggers Trey Swygart and Cole Katayama-Stall have been swinging hot bats late in the season. Swygart, who has played first and third base and pitched, is hitting .318 with 19 walks, 2 homers and 18 RBIs and Katayama-Stall, who has primarily played the outfield, is batting .286 with 6 doubles and 18 RBIs.

Two other Pilots are finishing strong for Corvallis, Brooks Avery and Quin Dufort. As a freshman, Avery played this past spring at NWAC champion Linn-Benton CC. The shortstop/outfielder stole 28 bases this summer, third best in the league, and led the team in at bats with 146 and games played with 49. Brooks hit. 267 with 35 runs scored, 1 homer and 20 RBIs. Dufort, a redshirt freshman left-handed hitter, returned from mononucleosis to play the last week of the season. Quin hit .346 over 26 at bats and played first base and left field.

Incoming frosh first baseman Maverek Russell of UCLA has hit well late, batting .276 with 27 walks and 20 RBIs. Incoming freshman Antonio Castro of Cal Play has been relegated to DH duty because of injury. Castro hit .262 with 5 doubles, 2 triples, a homer and 24 RBIs. Both Russell and Castro are left-handed bats with bright futures.

Outfielder Josh Proctor will be available Saturday (and Sunday if necessary). The Oregon State frosh hit .231 with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs.

Corvallis was hit by the injury bug late and will be without its hits leader in Maddox Riske of USC and key bats Braden Mondeau (Hawaii-Hilo), Kellen Segel (Linn-Benton CC) and Gavin Brubaker (NW Nazarene). Riske led the Knights in hits with 47 and batted .324 with 31 RBIs.

The Knights led the WCL in stolen bases with 168.

Five Corvallis players recorded 15 or more stolen bases; Ketelsen with 35, Avery with 28 and Riske, Segel and Wilson with 15 each.

Starting tomorrow night’s series opener on the mound at Vince Genna Stadium for the Knights is Trey Swygart. The right-hander made 4 appearances and two starts this summer. Over 13.2 innings pitched, Trey went 1-0 with 2 saves and posted a 0.65 ERA while walking two and striking out 12.

Saturday’s probable at Goss Stadium for Corvallis is Zach Johnson of Cal State Northridge. Zach was second in the WCL in starts with 9 and went 4-1 with a save and posted a 3.47 ERA over 44 innings pitched while walking 13 and striking out 36.

The Knights post-season pitching staff includes sophomore Van Froling of UC Santa Barbara who is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 20 innings pitched. The lefty has struck out 24 and only walked four.

Also at coach Knight’s disposal are sophomore righty Troy Cooper (1-1, 2.86, 1 save, 22 IP, 22 K) and southpaw Luke Kalfsbeek (3-0, 3.62, 1 save, 22.1 IP, 25 K) of Cal Poly, junior lefty Mac Zawistoski of Eastern Illinois (2-2, 1.02, 14 app, 26.1 IP), senior southpaw Tanner Douglas of Oregon State (7.04, 1 save, 15.1 IP, 21 K) and senior Michael Singleton of George Fox (0-2, 3.60, 1 save, 13 app, 25 IP).

Incoming frosh Tyler Bellerose of Oregon State will be available at Goss Stadium. He went 3-0 with a save and 0.98 ERA over 7 appearances, 2 starts and 18.1 innings pitched.

Sophomore lefty Chase Olson (2-2, 3.37, 1 save, 12 app, 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 28 K) of Nebraska and senior southpaw Dominic Tatone (2-1, 5.81, 13 app, 21.2 IP) of Lewis-Clark State are day-to-day.

The Bend Elks will start ace pitcher Erik Poudziunas of Michigan in the series opener. Their Saturday probable is TBA.

Poudziunas led the WCL in innings pitched with 50. The right-hander went 4-2 with a 3.60 ERA this summer.

Bend outfielder Jace Miller of Oregon State is a legitimate MVP candidate. The right-handed hitting slugger blasted four home runs, collected 40 RBIs and captured the WCL batting crown with a .383 average. He was also second in the league in OBP at .490, fourth in slugging at .557 and tied for the league lead in doubles with 14. Miller played this past spring at University of Portland.

The Elks offense also features sophomore Makoa Sniffen of St. Mary’s, left-handed slugging first baseman Easton Amundson of MSU-Denver and incoming frosh infielder Jack Laffitte of Michigan. Sniffen finished third in the league in RBIs with 46 and fourth in total bases with 88. He hit .314 with 9 doubles and 7 HR. Amundson hit. 298 with 12 doubles, 7 homers and 19 RBIs. Lafifitte hit .373.

Bend’s bullpen is anchored by longtime Elk junior Simon Lemke of San Diego State. The righty recorded 3 saves and posted a 1.92 ERA over 28 innings pitched.

The Elks hit .272 as a team, posted a staff ERA of 4.95 and went 18-9 at home. Corvallis batted .275 as a team, which was third best in the WCL, and posted a fourth-best ERA of 3.93 while tying for the league lead in saves with 15. The Knights’ fielding percentage was .970, third best in the league, and Corvallis went 21-6 at Goss Stadium.

Game one of the series is set for Friday, August 8 at Vince Genna Stadium with a first pitch of 6:35 pm. Game two is scheduled for Saturday, August 9 at Goss Stadium with a start time of 6:35 pm. If a third game is necessary, it will be held at Goss with a starting time of 6:05 pm.

The Knights have reached the post-season for a league record 18 consecutive times and have captured 10 WCL titles.

Corvallis first West Coast League championship series appearance was in 2007 under head coach Matt Dorey, now the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Chicago Cubs. Since, the Knights have reached the league finals 14 times with skipper Brooke Knight guiding the club since 2008.