Swygart’s blast lifts Knights over Drifters

Sunday, Aug. 3, Springfield, Ore. – A three-run homer by Trey Swygart capped a four-run 10^th inning and the Knights wrapped up the road portion of the West Coast League season with a 5-1 victory over Springfield at the Hamlin Sports Complex.

With the MLB tie-breaking format in effect, Corvallis loaded the bases with one out in the 10^th with the guest runner at second and two walks. Maverek Russell’s (UCLA) single to right field drove in the go-ahead run, but the runner from second was gunned down at the plate on a hotly-contested decision for the second out.

However, Swygart (pictured, above) made the call a moot point by blasting a three-run homer to right field for a 5-1 advantage. It was his second homer of the summer; he also went deep at Walla Walla on July 12.

It was the ninth win in a row and the 12^th in the last 13 games for the torrid Knights (41-14 all, 37-14 WCL, 20-4 second half). They have outscored their opponents 89-20 during their ongoing winning streak.

Corvallis remained in first place in the South Division’s second-half pennant race, percentage points ahead of first-half champion Portland. The Knights have clinched home-field advantage in the best-of-3 first round of the divisional playoffs, which will begin at Marion or at Bend on Aug. 8.

Swygart was 2-for-5; Brock Ketelsen (Stanford) doubled, singled and scored once. They were the only Knights with more than one hit.

Ketelsen also earned the pitching victory. He relieved Mac Zawistoski (Eastern Illinois) with two outs in the ninth and a runner at first; he ended the inning with a strikeout and then added a scoreless 10^th.

It was his first win, to go along with a save. His two strikeouts gave him 19 for the summer in only 8.2 innings.

Springfield took a 1-0 lead in the second. Cole Katayama-Stall (Portland) scored on the back end of a double steam to knot the game 1-1 in the fourth and neither team scored again until the 10^th.

Zack Johnson (Portland) went six innings, exceeding five innings for the sixth time in his last seven starts. He allowed one run on four hits, with no walks and four strikeouts; he left with the game tied 1-1 and was not involved in the decision.

Zawistoski pitched 2.2 scoreless innings before giving way to Ketelsen after being touched for a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed three hits in all, and escaped unscathed after a double and a single put runners at second and third with no outs in the seventh inning.

Corvallis closes the regular season vs. Portland on Aug. 4-6 at Goss Stadium; all three games begin at 6:35 p.m. Van Froling of UCSB (2-0, 1.68), Chase Olson of Nebraska (2-2, 3.37) and Trey Swygart of Portland 1-0, 0.65) are the projected starters for the Knights.

Aug. 4 is the $1,000 Kids Dash for Cash, sponsored by State Farm agents Jim Kuhlman, Monica Baez, Severn Thomas and Suzanne Ropp.

Aug. 5 is Spartans vs. Raiders Night, with representatives from Corvallis High and Crescent Valley competing in between-innings games. The winning team claims the Corvallis Cup.

Aug. 6 is Fan Appreciation Night, with attendees eligible for raffle prizes and giveaways.

The divisional playoffs start on Aug. 8, against either Marion or Bend. The Knights will open the best-of-3 series on the road and host Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) on Aug. 9-10.

The South and North divisional championship games are set for Aug. 12. The WCL championship is Aug. 14; the team with the best overall West Coast League record will host.

In other team news, the Knights have added future Linn-Benton CC right-handed pitcher Cooper Yudhishthu to the roster. He will pitch in the Aug. 5 game against Portland.

He pitched at Grant High School in Portland this past spring, was PIL Pitcher of the Year and earned first-team 6A all-state honors. He also started the state-title game against Sunset.

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