Monday, July 7, Portland, Ore. – An outstanding relief performance by Arlo Pendleton gave the Knights the support they needed in a 13-3 thrashing of Portland in the series opener at Walker Stadium.
Pendleton (Cal Poly, pictured above) entered the game in the home third with no outs, the bases loaded and the Knights clinging to a 3-2 lead. He retired the side with only one inherited runner scoring.
He then added three more scoreless innings, while the Knights scored seven times to assume an insurmountable 10-3 lead. Pendleton allowed only three hits and one walk, and struck out six.
It was the fourth straight victory for the Knights (20-14, 17-14 WCL, 4-0 second half). They are 7-3 over their last 10 games, strengthening their hold on third place in the South Division.
Center fielder Max Medina (incoming Cal Poly) celebrated his selection to the South Division All-Stars by going 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Third baseman Ryan Severn (UCSB) had a two-run homer and was 3-for-6 with three runs and three RBIs.
The Knights started quickly by scoring three times in the first. Ethan Porter (Oregon State) had an RBI single and Severns followed with a two-run homer.
Portland rallied to tie and knocked starter Colin Nowaczyk (Nebraska) out of the game with a two-run third inning. However, a run-scoring wild pitch and Medina’s RBI single sent the Knights back ahead 5-3 in the fourth inning.
The Knights scored five more times in the fifth to take a 10-3 lead. Medina had another RBI single; the other runs crossed on two bases-loaded walks, a bases-loaded hit batter and a passed ball.
In the eighth inning, Jackson Fera (LBCC) blasted a solo homer into the Knights bullpen in right field to puh the lead to 11-3. It gave the Knights their first two-homer game of the summer.
Sacrifice flies by Joey Marasco (George Fox) and Porter tallied the Knights’ final two runs in the ninth. Porter had three RBIs, upping his team-leading total to 19.
Corvallis did not allow a run over the final six innings. Incoming Seattle University lefty James Colella followed Pendleton by adding a scoreless seventh in his first appearance of the season.
Zane Garvey (Western Oregon) closed it out with two more scoreless frames. He struck out three.
Game 2 of the series is set for 7:15 p.m. on July 8; WCL all-star Morgan Codron of Portland (0-1, 1.84) is the scheduled starter for Corvallis, opposed by VCU’s Cooper Weygant (0-1, 5.79).
Matthew Sherwood of PLU (1-3, 5.50) and Zach Fetchel of Rice (2-, 3.00) are the probable starters for the July 9 finale, also set for 7:15 p.m.
Corvallis then plays a three-game series at Springfield, starting on July 10. Their next home game is a July 14 rematch with Gunderson Baseball; they edged Gunderson 2-1 at Goss on June 24.