Wednesday, June 25, Yakima, Wash. – The Knights fell 6-3 to Yakima Valley before a crowd of 778 on an 84-degree night at Yakima County Stadium. The loss evened the Southern Division series at a game apiece; Corvallis claimed the opener 16-5 in June 24.
The Knights (13-10, 12-10 WCL) fell behind 3-0 in the second inning but trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the third inning on an RBI single by Brock Ketelsen (Stanford), followed by Gavin Brubaker’s (NW Nazarene) RBI double.
The Pippins scored twice in the fourth to re-establish a 3-run lead. But the Knights cut that to 5-3 in the sixth on an RBI single by Braeden Mondeau (Hawaii-Hilo).
Corvallis had the tying runs on base in the seventh inning, the tying run at the plate in the eighth and another runner aboard in the ninth, but couldn’t score. It left eight runners on base.
Brubaker (No. 5, pictured above) doubled, singled and had an RBI. Jakob Marquez (Lewis-Clark State) also was 2-for-4.
Starter Easton Jones (Utah) allowed three earned runs and five hits in four innings. Reliever Tanner Douglas (Oregon State) blanked the Pippins on one hit over the next two innings to keep the Knights within striking distance. Val Froling (UCSB) pitched a scoreless seventh.
Corvallis remained in third place in the South Division. The top four finishers advance to the postseason playoffs.
The series concludes at 6:35 p.m. June 26. Right-hander Zach Johnson of Linfield (0-1, 4.84) gets the ball for Corvallis; Hawaii-Hilo lefty Ethan Salscheider will make his season debut for the Pippins.
Corvallis returns home to face the Cowlitz Black Bears on June 27-29. The Knights swept a series between the clubs in Longview back on June 17-19, outscoring the Black Bears 20-9.
The weekend’s probable starting pitchers, in order, are Jake Fields of Long Beach State (0-1, 2.07), Trey Newmann of Portland (1-0, 6.23) and Nate Stern of TCU (0-0, 1.12).
Saturday, June 28 is the annual Alyrica Cap Night giveaway. The first 750 fans will receive a free replica Knights cap, courtesy of Alyrica Internet.