Tuesday, June 30, Corvallis, Ore. – A boisterous crowd of 2,225 was rewarded with great pitching and a brisk 2:37 ballgame as the Knights blanked Portland 5-0 on a brisk night at Goss Stadium.
Corvallis (16-12, 13-12 WCL) starter Colin Nowaczyk (Nebraska, pictured above) stymied the Pickles on one hit through five innings. After walking the first two batters on 10 pitches, the Nebraska lefty settled down, threw 43 strikes in his next 61 offerings and finished with a nine-strikeout gem and his second win of the summer.
He earned Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors in his second straight outstanding start. He blanked Nanaimo on four hits through five innings on June 18, but was not involved in the decision.
Reliever Jack Galanida (George Fox) twirled a perfect sixth. Luke Schoeffler blanked the Pickles over the next two innings, with three strikeouts; Blake Sebastian (Nebraska) closed it out with a scoreless ninth.
Held hitless for 3.1 innings, the Knights strung together four straight hits and a walk in the fourth to score four times. Max Medina (incoming Cal Poly) and Ethan Porter (Oregon State) slapped back-to-back two-run singles to get the runs home.
Second baseman Ian Draper (Portland) jacked a solo homer in the fifth to conclude the scoring. It was the first home home run, and only the third of the summer, for Corvallis.
The series resumes at 6:35 p.m. on July; scheduled starters are right-handers Morgan Conron of Portland (0-0, 1.69) for the Knights and Zach Fetchel of Rice (2-0, 3.88). The July 3 finale pits Knights righty Matt Sherwood of PLU (1-2, 6.43) vs. Huston Christian righty Trent Barnes (0-0, 7.24) for the Pickles.
The Knights then host the Springfield Drifters on July 3-5. The series opener with the Drifters is the annual Oregon State Credit Union Fireworks Night, with a special 7:15 p.m. starting time. A limited number of tickets remain.
Corvallis also made a number of roster moves.
Right-handed pitchers Cooper Markham (Oregon) and Luke Duncan (incoming Oregon State) have joined the team. Markham was 0-0, 4.70 in nine games at Oregon in 2026; Duncan pitched at San Joaquin Delta College and was 1-0, 3.72, with three saves in 13 appearances.
Incoming OSU right-hander Grayson Riding (College of Southern Idaho) was shut down for the summer. He was 0-0, 4.09 in 11 innings over four appearances, with one save.
Pitcher/utility Mark Carpenter (LBCC), a 10-day signee, has returned home for the summer. He was 1-2, 2.45 in seven games, with 12 strikeouts in 14.2 innings on the mound; he hit .122 (2-15) with three RBIs as a position player/DH.
Righty pitcher Camden Hartsell (Umpqua CC), another 10-day player, has left the club by a predetermined agreement. He was 0-2, 17.42 in 10.1 innings over five games, with 11 strikeouts.
The crowd of 2,225 raised the season total to 18,955 in 13 home dates. That’s an average of 1,458 per outing.