Friday, June 27, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights unloaded their big guns to crush Cowlitz 12-3 before an Oktoberfest Night crowd of 1,646 at Goss Stadium.
DH Xavier Rios (CSUN) unloaded a three-run homer and catcher Ian Fernandez (UCSB) added a two-run blast to key a 7-run sixth inning that enabled the Knights (15-10, 14-10 WCL) to break open what had been a competitive 4-3 game. Corvallis moved within 1/2-game of second-place Cowlitz in the South Division.
It was an impressive Knights’ debut for Fernandez, a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Napa, Calif., who had two homers in 19 games for the Gauchos this past spring. He joined the team on gameday.
Center fielder Blake Wilson (Washington, pictured, above) was 4-for-4 with two runs and four stolen bases. Shortstop Antonio Castro (Cal Poly) was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, a double and a sacrifice fly. Wilson was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.
The Knights parlayed five walks into three runs in the fifth inning to assume a 4-3 advantage. Their seven-run explosion in the sixth clinched their fourth consecutive win over the Black Bears this summer; they swept them in Longview on June 17-19.
Every starter scored at least once. The Knights were not retired in order in any inning.
Nate Marshall (Eastern Illinois) reliever the starter in the first inning, with two runs already in and the still bases loaded. He ended the rally with a first-pitch groundout, added another 2.2 scoreless innings and was credited with the victory.
Relievers Troy Cooper (Cal Poly) and Dom Tatone (Western Oregon) teamed up to blank the Black Bears on three hits over the final 3.2 innings. Cooper got out of an inherited two-on, one-out jam in the sixth when the Knights were clinging to a 4-3 lead.
Game 2 of the series is set for 6:35 p.m. June 28. It’s our annual Alyrica Cap Night giveaway promotion; the first 750 fans will receive a free replica Knights cap, courtesy of Alyrica Internet.
Trey Newmann of Portland (1-0, 6.23) will start for the Knights, opposed by Hudson Aber of UCSB (0-0, 13.50).
The series concludes at 5:05 p.m. Sunday. The probable starters are Nate Stern of TCU (0-0, 1.12) for Corvallis vs. Brady Trombello of Texas Tech (0-0, 15.00) for Cowlitz.
The Knights visit the Marion Berries at Chemeketa Community College in Salem on June 30. They host Gunderson Baseball on July 1 and the Northwest Stars on July 3 in a pair of nonleague games before resuming their WCL slate with Bend at Goss Stadium on July 4-6.