Saturday, June 28, Corvallis, Ore. – A two-out RBI single by Maddox Riske (USC) enabled the Knights to walk-off Cowlitz 6-5 in an 11-inning thriller before a Cap Night crowd of 1,528 at Goss Stadium.
The Knights (16-10, 15-10 WCL) loaded the bases with no outs in the 11th but two force outs at the plate left them with one final chance to cash in. After taking two balls, Riske drilled a pitch cleanly into center field to score Thomas Ferroggiaro (Santa Clara) with the winning run, setting off a celebration as the entire team chased Riske into left field.
Brock Ketelsen (Stanford, pictured above) was 3-for-5 with his second homer of the season, four RBIs, and a stolen base to nab Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors. He singled with one out in the 11th to put runners at the corners with no outs, setting in motion the machinations that led to Riske’s winning hit.
Relievers Michael Singleton (George Fox), Chance Wallace (Pacific), Tanner Douglas (Oregon State) and Gavin Brubaker (NW Nazarene) were magnificent, combining to hold Cowlitz to four hits over nine scoreless innings. Brubaker pitched the 11th and was credited with the win.
Cowlitz led 3-0 early but Ketelsen’s RBI single in the second inning trimmed that deficit to 3-1. The Black Bears then scored two more in the third to build a 5-1 advantage they protected heading into the home half of the sixth inning.
With two outs, Josh Proctor (Oregon State) and Brooks Avery (LBCC) singled. That brought up Ketelsen, who pulled a line-drive over the right-field fence, just inside the foul pole, for a three-run homer that drew Corvallis to within 5-4.
The Knights finally pulled even in the seventh. Xavier Rios (CSUN) doubled, went to third on a passed ball and scored on Riske’s sacrifice fly to deep left field.
The deadlock remained until the 11h inning. It matched the longest game of the season for Corvallis; it lost 4-3 to Springfield in 11 innings at Goss Stadium on June 16.
A 10-day signee who has earned a full-time position, Avery was 3-for-4 and raised his average to .306. He has six hits in his last three starts.
Proctor was 2-for-5 and scored twice. Rios was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.
Corvallis assumed sole possession of second place in the Southern Division, one-half game ahead of idle Walla Walla, by winning for the 10th time in 12 games.
The series concludes at 5:05 p.m. June 29. The probable starters are Nate Stern of TCU (0-0, 1.12) for Corvallis vs. Brady Trombello of Texas Tech (0-0, 15.00) for Cowlitz.
The Knights visit the Marion Berries at Chemeketa Community College in Salem on June 30. They host Gunderson Baseball on July 1 and the Northwest Stars on July 3 in a pair of nonleague games before resuming their WCL slate with Bend at Goss Stadium on July 4-6.
July 3 is the annual Oregon State Credit Union Fireworks Night, with a special 7:15 p.m. starting time. The game always sells out so purchase your tickets now.
The Knights lost right-handed pitcher Jake Fields of Long Beach State, who was shut down for the summer. He was 0-1, 3.29 in four games, with 13 strikeouts in 13.2 innings.