Knights offense awakens in 5-1 win over Springfield Drifters

Thursday, June 20, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights emerged from their offensive funk and salvaged the finale of their series with Springfield with a 5-1 victory before 1,328 fans on a comfortable evening at Goss Stadium.

Corvallis (15-3, 14-3), shutout by the Drifters in the first two games of the series, snapped a two-game losing streak and remained comfortably ahead of the pack in the first-half South Division pennant race. The first-half champion automatically advances to the postseason playoffs.

Shortstop Ty Yukumoto (Pacific) was 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run and a steal to garner Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors. His RBI single in the eighth inning gave the Knights a 3-1 advantage; they added two more runs for a comfortable 5-1 lead heading into the ninth.

Catcher Luke Lavin (Stanford) also had an RBI single in the eighth; another run scored on a balk. Reliever Bransen Kuehl (Utah) struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to put the game to bed.

Reliever Kaden Segel (Portland, pictured above) inherited a two-on, no-out predicament in the sixth inning with the Knights ahead 2-0. One run scored to halve the lead, but he blanked the Drifters over the next two innings in a stellar three-frame performance.

Left fielder Kevin Takeuchi (USC) was 1-for-2 with an RBI and three walks, one of which came with the bases loaded to give the Knights a 2-1 edge in the fourth inning.

The teams meet for the fourth straight time on June 21 at the Hamlin Sports Complex in Springfield, starting at 6:35 p.m. Oregon State redshirt freshman James DeCremer is the scheduled starter for Corvallis in his summer debut.

Game 2 of the series is set for 7:05 p.m. June 22 back at Goss Stadium; Jackson Flora (0-0, 0.00) of UC Santa Barbara is the probable starter for Corvallis. It’s Dash 4 Cash Night; all children aged 12 and under are invited onto the field to chase after $1,000 in $1 bills.

The series returns to Springfield on June 23 for the 4:05 p.m. finale. Oregon State’s Laif Palmer will make his starting debut for Corvallis.

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