Tuesday, July 28, Corvallis, Ore. – Third baseman Ryan Severns (UCSB) went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs and the Knights took the opener of their crucial series with Ridgefield by an 8-2 count.
Corvallis (29-21, 25-21 WCL, 12-7 second half) solidified its hold on third place and a potential playoff berth by taking the first game of the summer between the perennial South Division contenders.
Corvallis also stayed within hailing distance of Walla Walla in the second-half pennant race. They trail the Sweets by one game; The Knights have eight remaining, the Sweets six.
Severns also had four defensive assists and was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.
Righty Micah Hagler (Seattle, pictured, above) shone in his starting debut, spacing seven hits and two runs over five innings. He struck out four and walked only one batter, throwing 48 strikes in 82 pitches.
Reliever Jack Galanida (George Fox) added two scoreless, hitless frames, striking out two and retiring six of the seven Raptors he faced. Cooper Markham (Oregon) and Luke Schoeffler (Linfield) each added a scoreless inning to close it out.
Incoming Cal Poly center fielder Max Medina was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Maverek Russell (UCSB) was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI and Xavier Rios (CSU San Marcos) and Ethan Porter (Oregon State) each singled and doubled.
Corvallis went ahead 1-0 with an unearned run in the second, then scored three times in the third to break the game open. Severns had an RBI single, Medina an RBI fielder’s choice and Xavier Rios an RBI single.
The Knights added three insurance runs in the sixth, starting with Tate Hammond’s (incoming UCLA) RBI triple. Hammond scored on Russell’s single and Russell tallied the final run on Severns’s sacrifice fly.
Severn added another sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to complete the scoring.
The series continues at 6:35 p.m. July 29; PLU’s Matt Sherwood (2-3, 4.67) gets the ball for Corvallis. Nebraska’s Colin Nowaczyk (2-2, 4.37) is the probable for the July 30 series finale, also set for a 6:35 p.m. start.
The Knights close the home portion of the regular season vs. Yakima Valley on July 31-Aug. 2. All games start at 6:35 p.m. except the 5:05 p.m. home finale.
Incoming Stanford freshman Bryce Hill (1-1, 3.57), Cal Poly’s Arlo Pendleton (2-2, 4.91) and newcomer Levi Hodges of Douglas College (0-0, 0.00) are the projected starters for Corvallis.
The Knights conclude the regular season at Ridgefield on Aug. 3-5. The postseason playoffs, involving the top four teams from the North and South divisions, begin on Aug. 7 with the best-of-3 divisional round.
The crowd of 1,264 raised the season attendance to 41,139 in 27 dates. That’s an average of 1,524 per opening.