Friday, July 4, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights stretched their overall winning streak to eight games in a row by edging Bend 6-3 in an auspicious debut to the second half of the West Coast League season.
It was the sixth consecutive WCL victory for the Knights (21-10 all, 18-10 WCL, 1-0 second half). Their last loss was at Yakima Valley back on June 25.
Starter J’Shawn Unger (Iowa Western CC, pictured above) spaced six hits over six innings, giving up just one run. He struck out four and did not issue a walk, enabling him to safely pitch around Bend doubles in the second, fourth and fifth innings.
He threw 52 strikes in 78 pitches and improved to 3-0. Unger earned Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors.
Chase Olson (Nebraska) pitched the ninth for the save, protecting the 6-3 advantage. A diving stop and bullet throw by shortstop Blake Wilson (Washington) nipped Bend’s Dawson Santana by a step to end the game with the potential tying run on deck, earning a standing ovation from the crowd of 1,109.
Wilson was also the hero in the eighth inning. His bases-loaded double down the third-base line drove in two important insurance runs to give the Knights a 6-3 margin heading into the ninth.
Center fielder Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) was 3-for-3 with four runs and three stolen bases. Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara) and Mason Riske (USC) had RBI singles; Trey Swygart (Portland) added an RBI double.
Game 2 of the series is set for 6:35 pm on July 5. Michigan’s Erik Puodziunas (3-0, 2.07) goes for Bend, opposed by Portland’s Trey Newmann (1-0, 8.40).
The starters for the 5:05 p.m. July 6 finale are John-Paul Sauer of Tulane (3-1, 2.45) for Bend and Zach Johnson of Linfield (1-1, 4.00) for Corvallis.
Corvallis then heads to South Division foe Ridgefield on July 8-10; the road trip concludes at Walla Walla on July 11-13. Corvallis swept a three-game series from Ridgefield at Goss Stadium on June 20-22; all the wins were by one run and two were walk-offs.