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Knights Daily Update
Knights win series finale, keep streak intact
June 19, 2015Happy Friday, everyone.
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A great night at the ballpark on Thursday, as we edged Yakima Valley 3-1 to take the series finale. We thus maintained our remarkable record of never having been swept in 60 three- or four-game series at Goss Stadium since we relocated to Corvallis from Gresham for the 2007 season.
We start a three-game series against Bend at 6:40 tonight in an early showdown for the South Division lead. The division-leading Elks took 2 of 3 from us in Bend on June 5-7 in each team's first series of the summer.
Third baseman Michael Farris (UC Riverside) joined the team this week and is hitting .556 (5-9) in three games, with a homer and three RBIs. Outfielder Emilio Alcantar (Linn-Benton) ranks 10th in the WCL with a .362 (17-47) average.
Bend infielder Tyler Davis of Northwest Nazarene earned West Coast League Player of the Week honors for June 8-14 for leading the Elks to a sweep at Cowlitz and series home victory over Victoria. He leads the WCL in average .451 (23-51) and in base hits (23).
Corvallis leads the all-time regular-season series 49-28 and holds a 25-8 edge in games played at Goss Stadium. The Knights also lead the playoff head-to-head 8-5; the teams met to advance to the WCL Championship Series in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014, with the Knights winning every year except 2010.
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We have great promotions all weekend.
* Tonight is Linn-Benton Tractor Cowbell Night. The first 250 fans will receive free Knights cowbells. It's always one of the loudest nights of the season!
* Saturday is Samaritan Health Service Fireworks Night. Note the special 7:15 p.m. starting time.
* Sunday is Coffee Culture Tumbler Giveaway Night. The first 250 fans through the gates get an iced coffee tumbler compliments of Coffee Culture. It's also our Father's Day game. Bring dad, and play catch with pops on the field after the game. And every Sunday there is free admission for all members of the Lil' Knights Club, presented by Jamba Juice.
See you there!
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Thursday's crowd of 1,503 upped the season attendance to 9,137 in seven dates. That puts us 658 ahead of last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.
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Tacoma (AAA Pacific Coast, Mariners) pitcher Sam Gaviglio (2009) allowed four hits and had seven strikeouts in six shutout innings and got the win in a 12-3 victory over Albuquerque on Thursday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
There were no honorable mentions.
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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark this weekend!
Matt Andriese gets 2nd MLB win, over Washington
June 18, 2015Happy Thursday, everyone.
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Another tough night at the ballpark on Wednesday, as we lost 5-2 in Game 2 of our series against Yakima Valley. Game 3 is at 6:40 tonight. We have never been swept at home, so we expect we'll keep that record intact and prevail tonight.
Newcomer Chris Clements of UC Santa Barbara makes his starting debut tonight. He was projected to go on Wednesday, but got pushed back a day. He will be opposed by
Andrew Bernstein of Cal Poly (0-0, 0.00) in a matchup of freshmen right-handers making their first appearances of the summer.
It's a Block 15 Thursday and COUNTRY Financial Mini-Bat Night. The first 250 children through the gates get mini-bats compliments of COUNTRY Financial.
See you there!
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Big night in the majors on Wednesday for alum Matt Andriese (2009) of the Tampa Bay Rays. The former WCL Pitcher of the Year blanked Washington on two hits over four innings, had two strikeouts, and got his second major-league win in a 5-0 victory over the Nationals. Here is more on Andriese from MLB.com.
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Cal Poly shortstop Peter Van Gansen (2013), an all-WCL player for our third title team, has signed with the San Diego Padres. He was their 12th-round pick in the recent MLB draft and will play for the Tri-City Dust Devils in the Northwest League, or for the Arizona Rookie League Padres.
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Wednesday's crowd of 980 upped the season attendance to 7,634 in six dates. That puts us 208 behind last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.
We're actually tracking very well, however, as by this time last year we'd already had a Fireworks Night that drew nearly 2,000 fans. Our first 2015 Fireworks Night is set for Saturday and we expect the big crowd will push us back ahead of last year's numbers.
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Richmond (AA Eastern, Giants) closer Josh Osich (2008) got another save on Wednesday, his 18th of the season, in a 4-3 win over Harrisburg to repeat as our Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honoree. He had one strikeout and lowered his ERA to 1.41.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Peoria (A Midwest, Cardinals) outfielder Blake Drake (2013) was 3-for-4 with a run in an 8-3 win over Beloit.
* Fort Wayne (A Midwest, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a walk in a 5-2 loss to West Michigan.
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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark all week!
Eight make Knights debuts in loss to Yakima Valley
June 17, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone.
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Tough night at the ballpark on Tuesday, as we fell 4-3 to Yakima Valley in the opener of a three-game series with the Pippins that kicks off a six-game homestand.
However, eight new players made their Corvallis debuts, and that bodes well for the future. The new Knights were Christian Donahue and KJ Harrison (Oregon State); Michael Farris (UC Riverside); Cameron Bishop (UC Santa Barbara); Michael Martin (UC Irvine); Alex Nesbitt (Washington), and Josh George and Slater Lee (Cal Poly).
Another newcomer, Chris Clements of UC Santa Barbara, will make his debut tonight as our starter in Game 2 of the series, at 6:40 p.m. Popular veteran starter/reliever Jorge Perez (2012-13) of Grand Canyon also arrived last night and is available if needed.
It's Beaver Basketball Night, Presented by the Hilton Garden Inn, and Spindrift Cellars Wine Tasting Night. OSU men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle will throw out the first pitch.
See you there!
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Big night in the majors on Tuesday for alums Matt Duffy (2010) and Andrew Susac (2009) of the San Francisco Giants in a 6-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
Duffy was 3-for-4 with a two-run homers, two runs and three RBIs and Susac was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
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More alum news to report from the world of professional baseball.
Recent draftee Gus Craig (2013), an outfielder from Columbia, has signed with the Seattle Mariners and been assigned to Peoria of the Arizona Rookie League. Catcher/infielder Nate Esposito (2012) of Concordia signed with Kansas City but was not assigned to an affiliate.
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Tuesday's crowd of 860 upped the season attendance to 6,654 in five dates. That puts us 276 behind last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.
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We lost 51-49 to Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass., in the second round of Ballpark Digest's contest to determine the top summer collegiate venue in the country. Here are the final second-round results. Thanks to those who voted; guess I should have voted a few more times!
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Richmond (AA Eastern, Giants) closer Josh Osich (2008) needed just seven pitches in a perfect ninth inning to earn his 17th save in a 1-0 win over Harrisburg to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Portland pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009, 2010) allowed one run and had one strikeout in three relief innings in a 6-1 loss to Binghamton.
* Great Lakes (A Midwest, Dodgers) second baseman Jimmy Allen (2011) was 1-for-3 with a double, a run and a walk in a 3-2 win over Lake County.
* El Paso (AAA Pacific Coast, Padres) catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and raised his average to .308 in a 3-2 loss to Albuquerque.
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Bend infielder Tyler Davis of Northwest Nazarene earned West Coast League Player of the Week honors for June 8-14 for leading the Elks to a sweep at Cowlitz and series home victory over Victoria. Please click here for more details.
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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark all week!
Series with Yakima Valley starts 6-game homestand
June 16, 2015Happy Tuesday, everyone.
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The Knights return home tonight after a historic series at Wenatchee to face the Yakima Valley Pippins, the hottest team in the early portion of the West Coast League season. The Pippins started the summer with a five-game winnings streak and lead the East Division with a 6-3 mark.
Strengthened by the arrival of infielders Nick Madrigal, Jackson Soto and Cole Kreuter and catcher Andy Cosgrove, we rebounded from back-to-back series losses to Bend and Bellingham by recording their first-ever series sweep at Wenatchee.
A Beaver-to-be shortstop from Elk Grove, Calif., Madrigal is off to a fast start since arriving for the June 11 win over Bellingham, one day after being selected by Cleveland in the 17th round of the MLB draft. He enters the series hitting .400 (8-20), with four RBIs. Here is more on Madrigal, from The Oregonian.
Even more of our full-time players will be on hand for the current homestand, which also features three games against South Division arch-rival Bend this Thursday through Saturday.
Corvallis leads the all-time series against Yakima Valley 2-1. A 2014 expansion team, The Pippins won the East Division title before falling to Bellingham in the divisional round of the playoffs.
All games this week start at 6:40 p.m. except for Saturday, when the game starts at 7:15 p.m. because of the postgame fireworks, sponsored by Samaritan Health Services. They will be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker doing the play-by-play.
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We have another roster move to announce. Pitcher Nick Duron of Clark College/Tigard High has decided to turn pro. He was selected by Boston in the 31st round of the recent MLB draft, as the 921st selection. Congrats and good luck to Nick.
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Don't forget to vote for Goss Stadium in Ballpark Digest's contest to determine the top summer collegiate venue in the country. We are paired against Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass., the home of the Pittsfield Suns of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, in the round of 16. You can get a ballot by clicking here. I've already voted!
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Chattanooga (AA Southern, Twins) pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) allowed one run on three hits over eight innings, had five strikeouts and got the win in a 6-1 victory over Birmingham on Monday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Peavey improved to 6-2.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Indianapolis third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-3 loss to Gwinnett. He has at least one RBI in six of his last eight games.
* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk in an 8-1 loss to New Hampshire.
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Please click here to read reporter Grant Lucas's story on the new owners of the Bend Elks, from the Bend Bulletin newspaper.
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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark all week!
Knights back above .500 after sweep at Wenatchee
June 15, 2015Happy Monday, everyone.
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What a difference a couple days can make! Last Thursday morning, we'd lost four games in a row and were 1-4 in the West Coast Conference. Now, a mere five days later, we are 5-4 and fresh off our first-ever sweep at Wenatchee, following last night's wild, 11-10, 12-inning win over the AppleSox.
We had never swept the AppleSox at Paul Thomas Sr. Field in the 11-year history of the WCL before this past weekend. And our three wins evened the all-time series at 30-30, so the Knights now have a winning or .500 career record against every single WCL opponent.
Not sure what time we arrived back in Corvallis this morning, but today is a welcome day off. We should be rested and ready for the start of this week's home series against Yakima Valley (Tuesday-Thursday) and Bend (Friday-Sunday). All games start at 6:40 p.m. except for Saturday, when the game starts at 7:15 p.m. because of the postgame fireworks, sponsored by Samaritan Health Services.
All the games will be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker doing the play-by-play.
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Our roster was strengthened considerably this past weekend by the arrival of Oregon State infielder Jackson Soto, UC Irvine infielder Cole Kreuter and Washington catcher Andy Cosgrove. The remainder of our full-time players are expected to report by Tuesday.
Some 10-day signees were released to accommodate those incoming full-timers. So, we thank Bret Sundberg, AJ Valencia, Henry Rondeau and Taylor Travess for their contributions, and wish them the best in their baseball future.
Also, first baseman/outfielder Dalton Kelly (2014) of UC Santa Barbara, an all-WCL choice for us last summer, has elected to turn pro and thus won't join us again this year. He went to Seattle in round 38 as pick No. 1,145. He was ranked No. 5 by Perfect Game in their 2014 top WCL prospects list.
Good luck to a great guy.
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Tampa Bay recalled RHP Matt Andriese (2009) to the major leagues from triple-A Durham on Friday, and he promptly won his first big-league game, against the Chicago White Sox. You can read more on that by clicking here.
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Goss Stadium edged Kiger Stadium in Klamath Falls 52-48 in the opening round of Ballpark Digest's contest to determine the top venue in the country. Now we are paired against Waconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass., the home of the Pittsfield Suns of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, in the round of 16. Make sure you vote for the Knights; you can get a ballot by clicking here. I've already voted!
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Some big alumni news to report from the world of minor-league baseball.
* Toronto has promoted pitcher Matt Boyd (2010) to Buffalo in the triple-A International league from New Hampshire in the double-A Eastern League. He lost in his debut on Sunday, but pitched well. Matt played at Oregon State.
* Pitcher Chase Johnson (2011) of San Jose (Giants) and utility Alex Burg (2008) of High Desert (Rangers) have been named to the California League all-star team that will play the Carolina League all-star team on June 23 at Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Chase played at Cal Poly, Alex at Washington State.
* Pitcher Scott Lyman (2010) of Jupiter (Marlins) has been named to the South Division team for the Florida State League to be played Saturday at St. Lucie. Scott played at UC Davis.
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Buffalo (AAA International, Blue Jays) pitcher Matt Boyd allowed two runs and six hits and had eight strikeouts over seven innings against Charlotte in his triple-A debut on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He was the losing pitcher as the Bisons fell 2-1 to the Knights.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Indianapolis third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in a 4-2 win over Gwinnett.
* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 1-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-2 loss to Richmond. Reliever Josh Osich (2008) had one strikeout, closed the game with a shutout inning and lowered his ERA to 1.50 for Richmond but did not meet the criteria for a save.
* Birmingham (AA Southern, White Sox) first baseman Danny Hayes (2010) was 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI in a 4-3 loss to Chattanooga.
* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run in an 8-6 loss to Jackson. Teammate Jimmie Sherfy (2011) gave up four runs in 1/3 of an inning and got the loss.
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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you at the ballpark on Tuesday!
Madrigal sparks Knights; Tampa Bay recalls Andriese
June 12, 2015Happy Friday, everyone.
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Great night at Goss Stadium on Thursday. Electrified by three hits from new arrival Nick Madrigal, the Knights edged Bellingham 5-4 to salvage the finale of our three-game series.
A shortstop from Elk Grove, Calif., who will play for Oregon State in 2015-16, Madrigal went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a single, a steal and two runs scored. He also perfectly handled five defensive chances without an error.
And oh, by the way, he didn't even warm up. After flying to Portland, he and a friend drove through heavy traffic on I-205 and I-5 and didn't make it to Goss until about 10 minutes before the game. He changed quickly, and then got to work.
So now it's off to Wenatchee for a weekend series with the longtime-rival AppleSox. Portland's Cole Doherty (0-1, 10.80) is our projected starter tonight; Cory Nelson of PLU will go on Saturday and Austin Kelly of Linn-Benton, who saved Thursday's win, goes on Sunday.
Our roster will be strengthened considerably by the arrival of Madrigal, UC Irvine infielder Cole Kreuter and Washington catcher Andy Cosgrove. The rest of our full-time players are expected to report by Tuesday, when the Knights start a six-game homestand against Yakima Valley and Bend.
The Wenatchee games will be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240. We are taking a feed from Wenatchee's broadcast team, so Mike Parker gets the weekend off.
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More great news to report. Tampa Bay has recalled RHP Matt Andriese (2009) to the major leagues from triple-A Durham. Matt started the season with the Rays and has been up and down twice since then.
He is 0-1, 4.79 in seven games with the Rays, with two saves and 13 strikeouts in 20.2 innings, and was 1-0, 2.70 in five games at Durham, with 20 strikeouts in 20 innings.
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Make sure to vote for Goss Stadium as a top summer collegiate ballpark in Ballpark Digest's contest to determine the top venue in the country. The first round has us paired against Kiger Stadium in Klamath Falls. You can get a ballot by clicking here. I've already voted!
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Thursday's crowd of 937 upped our season attendance to 5,794 in four dates. That puts the Knights 797 fans ahead of last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.
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Indianapolis (AAA International, Pirates) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in a 4-2 win over Gwinnett on Thursday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. BeMo is hitting .381 (16-42) over his last 12 games, with a homer, seven RBIs and six multi-hit games.
Honorable mention goes to:
* El Paso (AAA Pacific Coast, Padres) catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs in a 9-6 win over Sacramento. He raised his average to .305.
* Birmingham (AA Southern, White Sox) first baseman Danny Hayes (2010) was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks in a 5-1 win over Chattanooga.
* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) was 2-for-5 with a run in a 6-4 loss to Jackson. Teammate Jimmie Sherfy (2011) pitched two innings of scoreless relief, with two strikeouts.
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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you here on Monday and at the ballpark on Tuesday!
Incoming OSU frosh Nick Madrigal joins Knights
June 11, 2015Happy Thursday, everyone.
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Tough night again at the ballpark on Wednesday, as we fell 5-2 to Bellingham in Game 2 of the rematch of the 2014 West Coast League Championship Series, which the Bells won 2-1.
The series concludes at 6:40 p.m. today, with Washington State righty Ryan Walker (1-0, 0.00) pitching for us, opposed by a to-be-determined starter for the Bells. Their projected pitcher for tonight, Eric Kisena of Edmonds (Wash.) CC, was drafted by Detroit on Wednesday so he's on hold.
* Tonight is a Block 15 Thursday, and College Night. We encourage fans to wear their favorite college sweatshirt, enjoy discounted prices on Knights Summer Ale and other beverages, and check out the new TnT Builders Party Deck at Banners!
It will also be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker on the call. So we will see you at the ballpark!
We hit the road for a weekend series at Wenatchee on Friday morning. Our next homestand is June 16-21 against Yakima Valley and Bend.
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A big roster move to announce. The Knights have signed Oregon State incoming freshman infielder Nick Madrigal of Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, Calif. Nick was selected in the 17th round of the MLB draft by the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday but he should be in uniform for us tonight.
He's a 5-foot-8, 160-pound wizard who should help us immediately. He hit .481 on the USA Baseball U-18 team that won the gold medal in Mexico in 2014. He was All-American, all-state, all-area and all-league honors at Elk Grove and was ranked as the 109th recruit nationally by Perfect Game last year.
The rest of our full-time players will arrive over the weekend and we should be at full strength for Tuesday's homestand.
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It was a big day for us on Wednesday at the Major League Baseball draft, as 11 former or current players were selected. If most sign, we'll have more than 40 alums in affiliated baseball this summer.
Here's a quick rundown; for complete details, please click here for a story from our website.
* Cal Poly junior shortstop Peter Van Gansen (2013), the 2015 Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, was taken in the 12th round by the San Diego Padres as the 357th overall selection.
* Oklahoma junior catcher Chris Shaw (2014) went to the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round with the 463rd overall selection. He also was taken in the 14th round in the 2014 draft after his sophomore season at Midland (Texas) JC, by St. Louis at No. 435.
* Cal Poly junior right-handed pitcher Casey Bloomquist (2013) went to the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round with the 503rd overall selection. He was honorable-mention all-WCL in 2013.
* Infielder Nick Madrigal (2015) of Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, Calif., went to Cleveland in the 17th round as the 514th selection. He will play at OSU in 2015-16.
* Left-handed pitcher Austin Sodders (2014) of Riverside City College was picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round as the 517th overall selection.
* Oregon State outfielder Gabe Clark (2013) went to Toronto in the 26th round as the 782nd overall selection. He was ranked as the WCL's 17th-best pro prospect by Perfect Game after his 2014 season at Victoria.
* Columbia outfielder Gus Craig (2013), the 2015 Ivy League co-Player of the Year, was drafted by Seattle in the 30th round as the 905th overall pick.
* Current Corvallis pitcher Nick Duron (2015) of Clark College went to Boston in the 31st round as the 921st selection.
* Utility Nate Esposito (2012) of Concordia went to Boston in the 33rd round as the 999th overall pick.
* Lefty Andrew Naderer (2013) of Grand Canyon was selected by Detroit in the 37th round as the 1,120th pick. He was ranked No. 11 in Perfect Game's 2013 WCL pro ratings.
* Returning Knights' first baseman Dalton Kelly (2014-15) of UC Santa Barbara went to Seattle in round 38 as pick No. 1,145. He was ranked No. 5 by Perfect Game and No. 14 by Baseball America in their 2014 WCL pro evaluations.
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Wednesday's crowd of 1,068 upped the season attendance to 4,857 in three dates. That puts the Knights 584 fans ahead of last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.
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Chattanooga (AA Southern, Twins) pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) allowed no runs and two hits, had three strikeouts and got the win in a 56-2 victory over Jackson on Wednesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Greg is now 5-2.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Indianapolis (AAA International, Pirates) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 5-3 win over Rochester. BeMo is hitting .342 (13-38) over his last 10 games, with a homer, six RBIs and five multi-hit games.
* High Desert (A California, Rangers) DH Alex Burg (2008) was 2-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs and his 16th homer in a 16-3 win over Lake Elsinore.
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Some early roster moves in Victoria. The HarbourCats have released lefty Connor Suing (Western Oregon) and outfielder Matt Bryan (McPherson College). Catcher Evan Willow (McPherson College) and infielder Zane Takhar (Northeastern Oklahoma) have left the team. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.
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That is all for today. See you at the ballpark tonight!
Knights draw record opening-night crowd vs. Bellingham
June 10, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone.
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Tough night at the ballpark on Tuesday, as we fell 4-0 to Bellingham in the opening game of the rematch of the 2014 West Coast League Championship Series, which the Bells won 2-1. But we drew an opening-night record crowd of 1,540 to Goss Stadium, so not all was lost. Here is more on the game, from reporter Kevin Hampton of the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
The series resumes at 6:40 p.m. today, with Western Oregon righty Gary Steindorf pitching for us, opposed by Chico State righty Hunter Haworth for the Bells.
We have some excellent promotions for the final two games of our opening homestand.
* Tonight is Holiday Inn Express Magnet Schedule Night. The first 1,000 fans receive a 2015 Corvallis Knights magnet schedule.
* Thursday is Block 15 Thursday/College Night. Wear your favorite college sweatshirt, enjoy discounted prices on Knights Summer Ale and other beverages, and check out the new TnT Builders Party Deck at Banners!
Both games start at 6:40 p.m., and will also be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker on the call. So we will see you at the ballpark!
We hit the road for a weekend series at Wenatchee on Friday morning. Our next homestand is June 16-21 against Yakima Valley and Bend.
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No Knights alums were selected on Monday or Tuesday in the first 10 rounds of the annual Major league draft. However, we expect some will be taken today in rounds 11-40, so we will keep you informed via Twitter, and in the Blog on Thursday.
Speaking of alum-related news, pitcher Tyler Mahle of the Dayton Dragons (A Midwest, Reds), the younger brother of former Knights' pitching/hitting ace Greg Mahle (2012), was named the Midwest league Pitcher of the Week for June 1-7. Congrats to Tyler, who was slated to join the Knights out of high school before he elected to sign.
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Tuesday's record opening-night crowd of 1,540 upped our season attendance to 3,789 in two dates. That puts us 183 fans ahead of last year's total through a corresponding number of home dates.
Our former opening-night record was 1,121, set last year against Yakima Valley. Several of our season-opening Science, Engineering and Art Days have drawn larger crowds, but those nonleague exhibition games aren't considered the official opening night.
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New Hampshire (AA Eastern, Toronto) pitcher Matt Boyd (2010) allowed two hits and one run, had four strikeouts and got the win in a 9-1 victory over Akron on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Matt is now 6-1 with a 1.10 ERA, and certainly making a case for promotion to beautiful Buffalo (the Blog's hometown!) of the triple-A International League.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Indianapolis (AAA International, Pirates) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 3-for-4 with a homer, an RBI and two runs in a 5-4 win over Rochester. BeMo is hitting .324 (11-34) over his last 10 games, with a homer, five RBIs and four multi-hit games.
* Portland (AA Eastern, Red Sox) pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10) threw three shutout innings and had two strikeouts in a 4-3 loss to Richmond. Richmond closer Josh Osich (2008) needed just seven pitches in a perfect ninth to record his 15th save.
* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 3-2 win over Trenton. He raised his average to .331.
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That is all for today. See you at the ballpark tonight!
It's opening night!
June 9, 2015Happy Tuesday, everyone.
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It's opening night! Today at 6:40 p.m. the Knights host the Bellingham Bells in a rematch of the 2014 West Coast League Championship Series, which the Bells won 2-1. We have some excellent promotions for our first home WCL series.
* Tonight is Big League Chew Opening Night, presented by AmeriTitle. The first 250 fans will get a pouch of Big League Chew, and a pack of 2015 Knights' trading cards.
* Wednesday is Holiday Inn Express Magnet Schedule Night. The first 1,000 fans will get a 2015 Corvallis Knights magnet schedule.
* Thursday is Block 15 Thursday/College Night. Come enjoy discounted prices on Knights Summer Ale and other beverages and check out the new TnT Builders Party Deck at Banners!
The Knights dropped 2 of 3 games to Bend over the weekend in their opening WCL series. Outfielders Henry Rondeau (.375) and Emilio Alcantar (.286), 10-day signees from Linn-Benton CC, led the offense; seven 10-day signees started in Sunday's loss at Bend.
The Bells won 2 of 3 from the Kitsap BlueJackets at Joe Martin Field in their season-opening series. Shortstop Dustin Breshears of Gonzaga hit two of the Bells' four homers and had four RBIs in the series.
Corvallis leads the all-time series 38-25 and is 19-5 in games played at Goss Stadium. Bellingham didn't play in Corvallis in the 2014 regular season but did play Game 1 of the WCL Championship Series at Goss, a 4-3 Knights' win.
All three games start at 6:40 p.m., and will also be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker on the call. So we will see you at the ballpark!
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Future Knight KJ Harrison (2015) has been honored again. On Monday, the slugging catcher/first baseman was named a first-team Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
It is the latest major honor by Harrison, who earlier was named the Pac-12's Freshman of the Year, first-team all-Pac-12, and Freshman All-America by Louisville Slugger.
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Former Oregon State College of Business intern Davis Head (2013) has been named an associate merchant - Global Football at Nike. Congrats to Davis, who played on OSU's Club baseball team.
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Yakima Valley infielder Jace Van De Brake was named West Coast League player of the week on Monday. The Yakima native and Gonzaga redshirt freshman hit .600 (6-10) in the opening series against Klamath Falls and drew six walks to bring his on-base percentage to .750. Van De Brake reached in all six of his plate appearances and had an RBI double on Sunday. Please click here for full details, from the WCL website.
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Lake County (A Midwest, Indians) first baseman David Armendariz (2011) was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in a 4-2 win over Beloit on Monday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Indianapolis (AAA International, Pirates) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 2-for-4 with an RBI in a 6-3 win over Rochester.
* Tacoma (AAA Pacific Coast, Mariners) pitcher Sam Gaviglio (2009) gave up two runs, had eight strikeouts in six innings and got the win in a 7-3 victory over Sacramento.
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That is all for today. See you at the ballpark tonight!
Knights open WCL home schedule with Bells on Tuesday
June 8, 2015Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends.
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Tough series over in Bend, where the Knights lost the final two games after winning Friday night's opener. We left a combined 24 runners on base in the final two games, and it's tough to win when your offense scuffles in those situations.
But today marks the start of a new week, and a new opportunity. The Bellingham Bells come to town this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night in a rematch of the 2014 West Coast League Championship Series, which the Bells won 2-1. We have some excellent promotions for our first home WCL series.
* Tuesday is Big League Chew Opening Night, presented by AmeriTitle. The first 250 fans will get a pouch of Big League Chew, and a pack of 2015 Knights' trading cards.
* Wednesday is Holiday Inn Express Magnet Schedule Night. The first 1,000 fans will get a 2015 Corvallis Knights magnet schedule.
* Thursday is Block 15 Thursday/College Night. Come enjoy discounted prices on Knights Summer Ale and other beverages and check out the new TnT Builders Party Deck at Banners!
All three games start at 6:40 p.m., and will also be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240, with Mike Parker on the call. So we will see you at the ballpark!
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Alum Bud Norris (2005) of Cal Poly and the Baltimore Orioles was activated from the 15-day disable list on Sunday and responded with five solid innings in a 7-3 victory over Cleveland. He allowed one run and four hits over five innings, had seven strikeouts, and got the win.
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The Washington (Pa.) Wild Things of the independent Frontier League have activated alum/former Oregon State infielder Carter Bell (2009) from the suspended list. He also played with the team in 2014 following his release from the Arizona organization.
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Greensboro (A South Atlantic, Marlins) pitcher Ben Wetzler (2011) allowed one run on four hits over six innings, struck out three, and won his second game in a row with a 4-1 victory over Hagerstown on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Richmond (AA Eastern, Giants) pitcher Josh Osich (2008) got his 14th save by striking out the side on 10 pitches in the ninth to preserve a 4-1 win over New Hampshire.
* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) pitcher Jimmy Sherfy (2011) pitched a perfect ninth in a 4-2 win over Biloxi to earn his first save of the season.
* High Desert (A California, Rangers) DH Alex Burg (2008) hit his 14th homer of the year in a 6-4 loss to San Jose. Pitcher Chase Johnson (2011) allowed three runs and had three strikeouts over 7.2 innings for San Jose but got a no-decision when the bullpen blew the lead.
* Fort Wayne (A Midwest, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in a 5-4 win over Wisconsin.
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That is all for today. See you on Tuesday.
