Friday, June 19, Corvallis, Ore. – The Knights snapped a four-game losing streak with a dramatic 6-5 win over Edmonton, spoiling the RiverHawks first appearance at Goss Stadium.
Reliever Trey Swygart (Portland) got a strikeout and a comebacker for the final two outs, earning his first save by stranding the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first.
Corvallis (11-9, 10-9 WCL) had started its current nine-game homestand by losing four consecutive West Coat League games since taking 2 of 3 at Bend on June 12-14.
Swygart pitched in 13 games at Portland this spring but had not thrown for the Knights this summer before starting the ninth with a 6-4 advantage. He hit the leadoff batter, walked the second and then gave up an RBI single, cutting the lead to 6-5.
The Knights gunned down the lead runner at third on a wheel play on an attempted sacrifice bunt for the first out. He fanned the next hitter for the second out, and knocked down a grounder hit back to the box and threw easily to first for the final out.
First baseman Ethan Porter (Oregon State, pictured above) continued his torrid start since joining the team on June 15. He was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, his fifth double, a run and a steal. Now hitting .429 (9-21), he earned Washington Park Advisors Player of the Game honors.
Second baseman Ian Draper (Washington) had an RBI double in the first that just missed clearing the left-field fence. Center fielder Max Medina, bound for Cal Poly in the fall, scored twice and drove in a run.
Reliever Blake Sebastian (Nebraska) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings and was credited with the win. Reliever Matt Kosderka (Lower Columbia) pitched a scoreless seventh in his season debut.
Game 2 of the series is set for 7:15 p.m. June 20. Note the special starting time for our second Drone Night encounter. The series finale is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. June 21.
The RiverHawks and Corvallis had met only three previous times before Friday, a June 12-14, 2022 series in Edmonton.
Corvallis finishes the homestand with nonleague games against Gunderson Baseball on June 24 and vs. the Corvallis Gerding Construction American Legion team on June 25.