Wednesday, Aug. 6, Corvallis, Ore. – Corvallis concluded the regular season by pasting Portland 12-6 before an appreciative Goss Stadium crowd of 1,650.
The host families were honored before the game and the Knights erupted for eight runs in the sixth inning to erase a 5-2 deficit. They added two more runs in the seventh and then cobbled together enough pitching to put the Pickles away.
The Knights (43-15 all, 39-15 WCL, 22-5 second half) thus captured the South Division’s second-half championship over Portland (22-7). Portland won the first half, and posted the WCL’s best overall record (43-11).
There were offensive heroes aplenty as the Knights pounded five Pickles pitchers for 15 hits. Left fielder Quin Dufort (Portland) doubled, singled twice, scored twice and had two RBIs to garner Washinton Park Advisors Player of the Game plaudits.
Brooks Avery (Portland, pictured above) was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Blake Wilson (Washington) was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Maverek Russell (UCLA) went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Joshua Proctor (Oregon State) was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. The highlight of the night was a double suicide squeeze bunt by Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara), scoring Avery and Wilson to cap the 8-run sixth inning.
George Fox newcomers Andrew Miller and Blake Freese allowed one unearned run in the seventh and eighth innings, protecting the lead. Chance Wallace (Utah Valley) gave up two runs over five innings in a strong start.
The Knights will open the best-of-3 South Division playoff series at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend on Aug. 8. Righty Trey Swygart of Portland (1-0, 0.65) will start for Corvallis, which is 4-2 vs. the Elks this summer.
The Knights will host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) on Aug. 9-10. Zach Johnson (4-1, 3.47) will start Game 2; Game 3’s starter, if necessary, is TBA.
The South and North divisional championship games are set for Aug. 12. The WCL championship is Aug. 14; the team with the best overall West Coast League record will host.
Wednesday’s crowd of 1,650 raised the season attendance to 49,675 in 31 openings. That’s an average of 1,602; the Knights are 2,286 fans ahead of last season’s attendance through a similar number of home dates.