Thunderstorm stops Elks, Knights in 9th

Wednesday, July 22, Corvallis, Ore.  – Corvallis and Bend were suspended by a thunderstorm in the top of the ninth inning on July 22.

The Elks led 14-11 and there was a 2-2 count on the leadoff hitter when lightning was seen, stopping the game at 9:52 p.m. It was suspended at 9:59 p.m. and will be resumed at 5:30 p.m. on July 23.

Tickets for the suspended game will be honored on July 23. Fans with tickets for the regular-scheduled game can attend the finale of the suspended game as well.

The Knights (25-19, 21-19 WCL, 8-5 second half) battled back the rest of the night but could never draw even. They got within 6-4 after the second but the Elks erupted for five runs in the third to build an insurmountable 11-4 advantage.

Rising Oregon sophomore Cooper Markham was the most effective pitcher for the Knights. He threw three scoreless innings, striking out four.

Catcher Dakota Chun (Portland) was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Oregon Staters Diego Cruz each doubled, singled and drove in a run; Chun scored twice, Porter once.

Shortstop Ryan Severns (UCSB) had two hits and two runs.

PLU righty Matt Sherwood (2-3, 5.09) gets the ball for Corvallis in the July 23 series finale, opposed by Washington State’s Gavin Derr (0-1, 4.08). Also scheduled for 6:35 p.m., that game concludes the current homestand.

The Knights head to Yakima Valley on July 24-26. The projected starting rotation is lefty Colin Nowaczyk (2-1, 2.79) of Nebraska, incoming Stanford righty Bryce Hill (1-1, 3.86) and Cal Poly righty Arlo Pendleton (1-2, 4,73).

The crowd of 1,329 raised the season attendance to 37,619 in 25 dates, an average of 1,505 per opening.

In other team news, outfielder Will Jesske (Nebraska) suffered a season-ending hand injury while batting on July 21. He hit .333 (4-12) in four games, with three RBIs, after joining the team on July 16.