Sagehen pair to play for Knights in 2023

Saturday, Feb. 25, Corvallis, Ore. – Two standouts from Division III power Pomona-Pitzer University will play for the Corvallis Knights this summer, coach Brooke Knight announced Saturday.

The Sagehens/Knights-to-be are sophomore outfielder JC Ng and sophomore pitcher Ethan Collins. Both attend Pomona College at P-PU.

Ng is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound lefty/lefty from Foster City, Calif., who graduated from the Menlo School in nearby Atherton. He is off to a fast start this season, hitting .306 with two doubles, a homer and six RBIs in nine games heading into this weekend’s series with Redlands University.

Ng was a first-team SCIAC all-star and a second-team American Baseball Coaches Association all-region selection in 2022 following his standout freshman season. He hit .360 with seven homers, 47 RBIs and 58 runs scored in 44 games and finished the year on a 20-game hitting streak.

He hit .333 with a homer and four RBIs in the SCIAC tournament and then hit .348 with two doubles and six RBIs in a runner-up finish to Chapman in the NCAA regional.

A four-year letterman at the Menlo School, he was team captain as a junior and senior. He was team MVP and earned Central Coast Section Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors from the West Bay Athletic League in 2021. His 2020 season was cancelled by Covid 19; in 2019 he was all-WBAL and helped lead the team to the league title.

An economics major, Ng is an Oakland Athletics fan who likes photography, weightlifting, the Las Vegas Raiders and NASCAR. His favorites are Moneyball (movie), Modern Family (TV show) and Open – Andre Agassi (book).

Collins is a 6-2, 200-pound righthander from Orange Lutheran High School in Rossmoor, Calif. A sophomore this season, he is a molecular biology major.

Collins has pitched in two games in 2023 and had two strikeouts in two innings heading into the Redlands series. He appeared in 10 games in 2022, with a 2-1 record, two saves and 17 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.

He played for the Syracuse Spartans in the New York Collegiate League in 2020 and was 3-3, 4.15 ERA in seven games, with 43 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.

His favorite MLB team is the Los Angeles Angels and he enjoys golfing and going to the beach in his free time. His favorites are The Shawshank Redemption (movie), Lost in Space (book) and The Fountainhead (book).

Corvallis opens the 2023 season on May 25 with the annual Science, Engineering & Art Day at Goss Stadium, presented by Paventy & Brown Orthodontics.

The Knights begin their quest for a seventh-straight WCL championship against the host Ridgefield Raptors on June 2. Their home opener is set for June 15 against the Bend Elks.