Sock Puppets fall 10-8 on Knuckleball Night

Thursday, July 16, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights snapped a purported 29-game Salem Sock Puppets winning streak with a 10-8 triumph on Knuckleball Night before an entertained Goss Stadium crowd of 1,707.

The good-natured, non-counting exhibition game was played using a wide variety of rules, such as four outs in an inning, an out being recorded if a spectator caught a foul ball, etc. The Knights donned informal uniforms and played different positions.

Every batter came to the plate with a 1-1 count. No statistics were recorded and the game does not count toward the Knights overall record. A group of Knights players sang the National Anthem.

Two members of the Knights analytics team, Will Rodriguez (Hanover University) and Tyler Rock (Oregon State) split the pitching duties through the first seven innings. Rodriguez was named the Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game.

Knights pitching coach Beau Kearns, a former star at Lewis-Clark State, blanked the visitors in the eighth and ninth innings to record the save.

Infielder Diego Cruz, an incoming Oregon State second baseman after a standout freshman year at Miami of Ohio, had the big blow of the night with a solo homer to right field.

The Knights resume West Coast League action against Walla Walla at Goss Stadium on July 17-19. Corvallis’s probable starting pitcher for the series opener is Nebraska lefty Colin Nowaczyk (2-0, 2.40).

Stanford-bound righty Bryce Hill (0-1, 5.27) gets the ball on the July 18 Drone Night; please note the special 7:15 p.m. starting time. Cal Poly righty Arlo Pendleton (1-1, 3.27) is the probable for the July 19 finale, starting at 5:05 p.m.

Corvallis idle on July 20. The homestand concludes on July 20-22 with a South Division series against the Bend Elks; all three games begin at 6:35 p.m.