Walks and errors helped end the Knights’ 17-game home winning streak as they fell 5-3 to Yakima Valley in their regular-season finale.
Corvallis led 3-0 through four innings but two leadoff walks and a wild pitch led to two runs for the Pippins. In the eighth, two errors resulted in three unearned runs, erasing a 3-2 Knights’ advantage.
It was the first home loss since July 1 for Corvallis (40-20-1, 36-18 WCL, 20-7 second half), which went 14-2 in its last 16 West Coast League games to capture the South Division pennant by one-half game over Portland.
First baseman Trace Tammaro (pictured, above), a future Portland Pilot, was 3-for-4 and started two double plays, including a nifty 3U, 3-6 DP to end the ninth. Zak Taylor (Oregon State), Chad Stevens (Portland) and Brendan Beck (Stanford) added doubles.
Right fielder Austin Feist (St. Martin’s) had a two-run single, giving him 41 for the season, tops in the WCL. He had 19 RBIs in his final 12 league games.
The Knights will host Portland at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of the best-of-3 South Division playoff series. Portland right-hander Connor Knutson (3-2, 4.82) is the projected starter.
Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be at Portland on Saturday and Sunday. If the Knights advance, they will have home-field advantage for the WCL Championship Series, which starts Tuesday at the North Division entrant’s venue, either Bellingham or Kelowna.
Attendance for Wednesday’s game was 2,093. Our total attendance this year stands at 46,280 for 31 dates, an average of 1,493 per opening.