Thursday, July 30, Corvallis, Ore. – Knights veteran Maverek Russell anchored a 13-hit offensive attack and Corvallis crushed Ridgefield 11-3 in the rubber game of their South Division series.
The UCSB-bound first baseman (pictured, above) was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs. He was also hit twice – once in the helmet – and reached base safely in all five plate appearances. He was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.
The Knights (30-22, 26-22 WCL, 13-8 second half) bounced back from a tough 9-6 loss in their previous game to capture their third straight series. They remained solidly in third place in the overall South Division standings.
Corvallis also took another step toward clinching their 19th consecutive playoff berth. It trails idle Walla Walla by one game in the race for the second-half championship;
Russell’s RBI double in the third inning put the Knights ahead 2-1. He added a two-run double in the fourth, when Corvallis scored three times to increase its lead to 6-1.
Second baseman Diego Cruz’s (Oregon State) two-run single over a drawn-in infield capped a five-run outburst in the sixth that gave Corvallis an insurmountable 11-3 cushion.
Cruz had two hits, two runs and two RBIs; center fielder Max Medina had two hits, two runs, an RBI and a highlight-reel diving catch. Left fielder Kellen Segel (Cal Poly) had two hits and two runs and DH Dakota Chun (Portland) doubled, scored and drove in two.
Starter Colin Novaczyk (Nebraska) allowed one unearned run in four innings, with three strikeouts. Jack Galanida (George Fox) earned the pitching decision with three innings of one-run relief, with two strikeouts.
Blake Sebastian (Nebraska) pitched a perfect eighth. Newcomer Levin Hodges (Douglas College) had a hitless, scoreless ninth in his season debut.
The Knights close the home portion of the regular season vs. Yakima Valley on July 31-Aug. 2. All games start at 6:35 p.m. except the 5:05 p.m. home finale.
Incoming Stanford freshman Bryce Hill (1-1, 3.57), Cal Poly’s Arlo Pendleton (2-2, 4.91) and newcomer Levi Hodges of Douglas College (0-0, 0.00) are the projected starters for Corvallis.
The Knights conclude the regular season at Ridgefield on Aug. 3-5. The postseason playoffs, involving the top four teams from the North and South divisions, begin on Aug. 7 with the best-of-3 divisional round.
The crowd of 1,187 raised the season attendance to 43,712 in 29 dates. That’s an average of 1,507 per opening.
Corvallis made a roster move to bolster its pitching staff, adding 2025 Knights righthander Michael Singleton of George Fox. He was 0-2, 3.60 in 13 games with Corvallis last summer, with 25 strikeouts in 18 innings.
A graduate of Valley Christian High School in San Jose, Singleton was 1-2 in four games at GFU in 2026, with 23 strikeouts in 21 innings. He did not pitch after March 8; he is 5-5, 4.26 in 25 games over three seasons with the Bruins, with 59 strikeouts in 67.2 innings.