Sunday, July 12, Springfield, Ore. – The Knights salvaged the series finale with a 5-3 win over Springfield at the Hamlin Sports Complex.
Reliever Kellen Segel (Cal Poly, pictured above) pitched a perfect ninth to record his fifth save for Corvallis (22-17, 19-17 WCL, 6-3 second half). Four Knights relievers combined to hold the Drifters to one run and five hits over the final six innings.
Segel has not allowed an earned run in 10 innings over 10 appearances. He has 11 strikeouts with no walks, and only one extra-base hit allowed.
WCL all-star Ethan Porter (Oregon State) homered and drove in three runs. His future Beaver teammate, Diego Cruz, was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and a steal and Zane Garvey (Portland) went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Corvallis jumped to a quick lead in the first on Porter’s two-run homer to center field, his first of the summer. Garvey’s RBI single made it 3-0 in the third.
Springfield cut the lead to 3-2 but an RBI single by Carter Stewart (Portland) stretched the cushion to 4-2 in the eighth. Springfield scored again in the home half to draw within 4-3.
The Knights got a big insurance run in the ninth. Cruz doubled and scored on two groundouts, the second by Porter for his team-leading 22nd RBI.
Starer Arlo Pendleton (Cal Poly) allowed two runs and two hits over three innings, with two strikeouts. Cooper Markham (Oregon) added a scoreless inning and Nathan Marshall (Eastern Illinois) went three scoreless, one-hit innings. Marshall earned the pitching decision.
The Knights are idle on July 13. Their next home game is a July 14 rematch with Gunderson Baseball. They edged Gunderson 2-1 at Goss on June 24.
The WCL All-Star Game is Wednesday, July 15, at Victoria. The Knights host the Salem Sock Puppets in a nonleague game on July 16, then resume WCL action against Walla Walla at Goss Stadium on July 17-19.
Corvallis’s probable starting pitchers for July 17-18 have not been announced. Nebraska lefty Colin Nowaczyk (2-0, 2.40) gets the ball on July 19.
The Knights announced some roster moves after the game.
Pitcher Morgan Codron (Portland) will be shut down after the July 15 All-Star Game at Victoria. He was 0-2, 3.86 in five games, with 28 strikeouts in 18.2 innings. RHP Josh Jannicelli (UCSB) won’t pitch again this summer. He was 0-1, 4.32 in four appearances.
Also, pitcher Ari Silva (LMU) and catcher Carter Stewart (Portland) are being shut down. Silva was 0-1, 5.91 in six games, with 11 strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Stewart hit .266 in 22 games, with 14 RBIs.
Infielder Ian Draper (Portland) is also done. He hit .224 in 23 games, with two homers and 11 RBI. Trey Swygart (Portland) landed a spot as a pitcher in the Cape Cod League. He hit .229 (2-19) in 31 games as a position player and was 0-0, 5.40 in four games as a pitcher, with two saves.
Right-handed pitchers Creighton Tuzzio (Iowa Western, incoming OSU), Micah Hagler (Seattle), outfielder Will Jesske (Nebraska) and catcher Dakota Chun (Portland) will join the team on July 13.
Tuzzio was 2-2, 7.09 in 14 games at Iowa Western, with 47 strikeouts in 33 innings. Hagler was 3-6, 6.21 in 13 games, with 38 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. Chun hit .230 (3-24) in 44 games for the Pilots. Jesske hit .318 in 33 games, with five homers and 18 RBI, for the Huskers.