CORVALLIS, Ore. – Right fielder Jordan Qsar moved into second place in the West Coast League RBI race and the Knights edged Bend 6-4 to sweep their South Division series.
A rising Pepperdine senior, Qsar knocked in three runs, including two on a two-out, two-run single in seventh inning that sent the Knights ahead to stay, 6-4. He now has 26 RBIs, second to Wenatchee’s Evan Johnson (36).
Qsar also drove in Corvallis’ first run with a fourth-inning double, and finished 3-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. He has hit safely in six of his last seven games and is batting .400 (10-25) with seven RBIs in that span, raising his average from .269 to .301.
It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Knights (23-10 all, 3-0 second half, 20-10 WCL), who took the season series 5-1 over the Elks (0-3 second half, 12-18 WCL). Corvallis also won 2 of 3 in Bend on June 11-13.
Matt Kelly (Portland), Tanner Cantwell (Treasure Valley CC) and Taylor Travess (Oregon) also had RBIs for the Knights. Corvallis erased a 4-2 deficit with two in the fifth and then scored the winners two innings later.
Starter Louis Crow (San Diego) had 10 strikeouts in 4.1 innings. But two walks and a wild pitch led to two Bend runs and he did not factor in the decision.
Hazahel Quijada (UC Riverside) pitched a scoreless seventh and earned the victory. Chase Kaplan (Kansas) recorded his fourth save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
The Knights host the Willamette Valley Brewers of the Oregon Collegiate Baseball League at 6:40 p.m. Thursday in a nonleague game. Cantwell (0-1, 14.40) is the scheduled starter.
Corvallis resumes WCL action at 6:40 p.m. Friday in the opener of a three-game series against the Walla Walla Sweets. The Knights conclude their 10-game homestand against North Division first-half champion Kelowna on July 10-12.