Knights break late tie, edge Black Bears 9-6

Tuesday, June 17, Longview, Wash. – The Knights scored three times in the ninth inning to edge Cowlitz 9-6 in the opener of their South Division series at David Story Field.

An RBI single by Gavin Brubaker (NW Nazarene), a sacrifice fly by Antonio Castro (Cal Poly) and an error accounted for the scoring, which enabled Corvallis (7-8 all, 6-8 WCL) to avoid what could have been a devastating loss.

Corvallis led 6-1 with one out in the bottom of the eighth when the bullpen imploded, giving up five runs on two hits and six walks. That enabled the Black Bears to tie the game.

Cowlitz again had the tying run at the plate with no outs in the last of the ninth. But reliever Dom Tatone (Western Oregon) got a force out to put runners on the corners, and then induced a game-ending 5-4-3 double play.

Brubaker (pictured above) continued his torrid hitting by going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, two runs and a double. He raised his average to .484, which would be leading the West Coast League if he had enough at-bats to qualify.

Brubaker has at least one hit in all eight games he’s played in, with four multi-hit games.

Maddox Riske (USC) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and upped his average to .429. He also has four multi-hit games in eight starts and is batting .522 after starting the summer 0-for-5.

The Knights took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. Brooks Avery and Blake Wilson (Washington) singled and moved up a base on a groundout; Brubaker singled them home.

Brubaker eventually reached third and scored on a squeeze bunt by Braeden Mondeau (Hawaii-Hilo) for a 3-1 advantage.

The Knights added three more runs in the eighth inning, one on Mondeau’s RBI single and two more on another single by Riske.

J’Shawn Unger had an outstanding start, allowing only one run and three hits over five innings. He struck out two and did not issue a walk. Nate Marshall (Eastern Illinois) then pitched a scoreless sixth.

Luke Kalfsbeek (Cal Poly) added a scoreless seventh. But then bullpen collapsed in the eighth inning by walking six batters and giving up five runs with two outs, enabling Cowlitz to tie the game.

The series resumes at 6:35 p.m. on June 18 at David Story Field. The Knights starter is TBA; Matt Champion (0-0, 2.89) of Loyola Marymount will go for the Black Bears.

The series finale is set for 6:35 p.m. June 19. Utah righty Easton Jones (1-1, 3.48) goes for Corvallis, against Vanguard righty Dylan Henson (0-0, 1.08).

Corvallis returns home to host the Ridgefield Raptors on June 20-22.

June 20 is Forestry Night, starting at 6:35 p.m. The first 250 fans will receive a Lil’ King mini-bat, courtesy of Starker Forests.

June 21 is State Farm Dash for Cash night, with a special 7:05 p.m. starting time. The game will be paused in the fourth inning so kids 12 and under can come on to the field and chase $1,000 in cash.

The presenting State Farm agents are Monica Baez, Jim Kuhlman, Severn Thomas, Suzanne Roppe and Jeff Mills.

June 22 is the Corvallis Clinic Foundation’s annual Strike Out Cancer Night, starting at 5:05 p.m. It supports Project H.E.R., a comprehensive oncology support group for cancer patients.

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