Thursday, Aug. 13, Wenatchee, Wash. – The Knights bid for their 11th West Coast League title fell just short as Wenatchee rallied for a wild 8-7 victory in the championship game at Paul Thomas Sr. Stadium.
The AppleSox scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to erase a 7-5 deficit. They then shut the Knights down in the ninth for an 8-7 victory to claim their sixth overall title and first crown since 2012.
The comeback negated a fantastic relief performance by Cooper Markham (Oregon, pictured above). The hard-throwing righthander entered the game with four runs in, the bases loaded and only one out in the bottom of the second. He induced an inning-ending double play on his first pitch, then shut Wenatchee down on one hit and one unearned run for the next five innings.
Markham struck out seven, walked two and threw 41 strikes in 65 pitches in his longest outing of the summer. That enabled the Knights to retake the lead and hold a 7-5 advantage heading into the home eighth.
However, the AppleSox loaded the bases with two outs on a hit, a walk and a hit batter. Reese Vasser then tripled into the right-field corner, clearing the bases and giving Wenatchee just enough runs to win, as Corvallis went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.
Corvallis (38-25) was seeking its 11th championship in its first title-game appearance since 2023. It eliminated Walla Walla and Ridgefield to claim the South Division title and advance to the final showdown.
Wenatchee (43-13) had advanced by eliminating Kelowna and Bellingham in the North Division playoffs.
Ryan Severns (UCSB), Max Medina (Cal Poly) and Kellen Segel (Cal Poly) all had two hits. Dakota Chun (Portland) drove in two runs.
Corvallis grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning on Chun’s two-run single. Joey Marasco (George Fox) singled, stole second, took third on an overthrow and made it 3-0 on Maverek Russell’s (UCSB) single in the second inning.
The AppleSox responded with five hits and four runs in the bottom of the second, knocking Knights’ starter Micah Hagler (Seattle) from the game and taking a 4-3 lead. Markham prevented further damaged by getting a bases-loaded 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Two passed balls led to an unearned run for the AppleSox in the third inning, boosting their lead to 5-3. Corvallis drew within 5-4 when Marasco drove in Segel with a fourth-inning groundout.
The Knights surged back ahead 7-5 with three runs in the fifth. Severns and Segel had RBI singles and another run scored on an error. The Knights had more chances to score, but could not add on.
Wenatchee is now 6-3 all-time in the finals, with titles in 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2026. The Knights are now 10-5 in their 15 championship appearances.