Knights sign Cooper Moore of Cal Poly

Happy Monday, everyone, and welcome to 2016, and Year 6 of the Blog! Hope everyone had a happy holiday season!

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We have some roster news to report.

The Knights have signed first baseman Cooper Moore, a freshman from Cal Poly. He is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound right-handed hitter/thrower from Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, Calif.

He will join Cal Poly teammates Craig Colen and Slater Lee on the 2016 Knights. Welcome to the Knights, Cooper!

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The Walla Walla Sweets have signed outfielder Ryan Johnston and catcher Griffin Mazur for the 2016 season. They play at UC Irvine; please click here for more information, from the Our Sports Central website.

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Our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Wednesday.

Brent Morel signs with Japan's Onix Buffaloes

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

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Some alumni news to report, as has become usual. It seems our former players are in the news a lot more than are current players in the offseason as our alumni base keeps growing, year after year.

Infielder Brent Morel (2006-07) of Cal Poly, the first Corvallis Knight to play in the major leagues, is taking his services to Japan for the 2016 season. He has parlayed a spectacular half-season with Nashville in the Pacific Coast League into a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League.

Brent hit .331 with two homers and 24 RBIs in 34 games with Nashville after signing with the Oakland organization in July. He became a free agent after being DFAed by Pittsburgh when the Pirates sent him back to triple-A after another short stint in the majors.

Here is more on that story. Best of luck to Brent, who will be the third alum to play in Japan, joining Bobby Scales (1997) and Matt Hague (2005), who signed earlier this offseason.

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The Minnesota Twins have released alum Greg Peavey, a former Oregon State star who played for us in 2007, our first season in Corvallis, following his graduation from Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Wash. He was honorable-mention all-WCL that season, when we lost to Moses Lake in the Championship Series.

A five-year veteran of the New York Mets/Minnesota organizations, Greg reached triple-A several times and was 45-39 in 148 career games, with a 4.60 ERA and 466 strikeouts in 667 innings. He played at triple-A Rochester (International League) and at double-A Chattanooga (Southern League) in 2015 after being plucked from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft.

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The deadline is upon us. Current season-ticket holders have until Thursday to reserve their same seats for the 2016 season. So you had better hurry if you have not renewed yet.

Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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Former Wenatchee broadcaster Chris King, the current voice of the Northwest League's Tri-City Dust Devils, will work for the West Coast League this year as the WCL's first social media resource and first director of online communications. Here is more on that story, from the league website.

Welcome to Chris, one of the good guys in the business.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! We are taking Friday off for the New Year's holiday, so we will see you in 2016!

Boston releases Kyle Kraus

Happy Monday, everyone. College football bowl-mania is upon us this week, but there is never a bad time to talk Knights baseball. And, we hope you all had great holiday weekends.

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Some alumni news to report.

The Boston Red Sox have released right-handed pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10). The former star at the University of Portland earned first-team all-West Coast League honors for us in 2009 and 2010 while helping us to two division championships.

Kyle was Boston's seventh-round selection in the 2012 draft and spent five years in their minor-league system. He advanced to triple-A on several occasions and finished his career with a 15-9 record in 107 games, with 14 saves and 207 strikeouts in 299.1 innings.

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The Texas Rangers have re-signed utility Alex Burg (2008). The former Washington State star was the MVP of our 2008 WCL championship team. He was also a first-team WCL all-star.

Alex hit a combined .285 (113-396) in 112 games at Round Rock (triple-A Pacific Coast League), Frisco (double-A Texas League) and High Desert (single-A California League) in 2015, with 22 homers and 65 RBIs. He is a lifetime .268 (433-1,617) hitter in 473 games in the San Francisco, Miami and Texas organizations, with 62 homers and 239 RBIs.

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It's getting close to the deadline; current season-ticket holders have until Thursday to reserve their same seats for the 2016 season. So you had better hurry if you have not renewed yet.

Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Wednesday!

Harrison named preseason All-American

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends.

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Some alumni news to report.

Oregon State sophomore K.J. Harrison (2015), who played briefly for the Knights last summer before joining Team USA, has been named a second-team preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger, the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper announced Tuesday.

Harrison was the 2015 Pacific-12 Conference Freshman of the Year after hitting .309 with 12 doubles, three triples, 10 home runs and a league-leading 60 RBIs. He then hit .444 in two games with the Knights before leaving for Team USA.

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We always talk about the quality of the West Coast League, and with good reason. Please check out this story from the WCL website and read for yourself the endorsements of the WCL from college coaches around the country.

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Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31, so you had better hurry if you have not renewed yet.

You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection. We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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The Victoria HarbourCats have announced that local legend Krazy George, the inventor of The Wave, will appear in Victoria leading up to and during the June 7 home opener against the Wenatchee AppleSox. Krazy George is celebrating the 35th anniversary of The Wave, which was a staple of his time at B.C. Place Stadium when he was a popular part of B.C. Lions games. Please click here for more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! We are off on Friday for Christmas, so we will see you on Monday.

Alum Carter Bell returning to Joliet

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends.

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Some alumni news to report.

The Joliet (Ill.) Slammers of the independent Frontier League have exercised their contract option on infielder Carter Bell (2009) for the 2016 season. He played for us following his freshman year at Oregon State.

A one-time prospect in the Arizona organization, Bell hit .203 (14-69) in 18 games for the Slammers, with four homers and six RBIs, after being acquired in a trade from the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things. He hit .234 (39-167) in 48 games at Washington, with four homers and 19 RBIs.

So for the season, Bell hit .225 in 104 games, with eight homers and 25 RBIs. The Courtenay, British Columbia, native was a 2014 Frontier League All-Star with Washington, when he hit .289 in 88 games, with four homers and 37 RBIs.

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Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31, so you had better hurry if you have not renewed yet.

You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection. We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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The Walla Walla Sweets have signed freshman catcher Willie MacIver, a returnee from the University of Washington, and pitcher Ben Baird, an incoming freshman from Agoura Hills (Calif.) High School, for the 2016 season.

Baird was a Perfect Game first-team underclassman All-American in 2015 as a junior. Please click here for more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Wednesday.

Alum Matt Boyd eager for second year in MLB

Happy Friday, everyone. A welcome end to a very wet week.

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Some alumni news to report.

Pitcher Matt Boyd of the Detroit Tigers, a two-way player for us in 2010 after his freshman season at Oregon State, has high hopes for his second year in the major leagues. He made the Show in 2015 with Toronto after less than three years in the minors, and then was traded to Detroit, where he finished the rest of the season with the Tigers.

Here is more on that story from reporter Steve Gress of the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Enjoy.

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Former UC Santa Barbara outfielder Scott Quinlan (2014) and former Centralia College/Central Washington pitcher Devon Barker (2012-13) are playing for the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League this winter (summer in Australia).

Quinlan is batting .182 (2-11) in four games, with a homer and four RBIs since going on the active list upon recovering from a shoulder injury. Barker, a lefty, is 1-0, 5.02 in 10 games, with seven strikeouts in 14.1 innings.

They did not play this past week because of the all-star break. Adelaide resumed its schedule on Friday by dropping the opener of a four-game home series against Perth and neither saw action in that game as well.

Former Knights' pitcher Liam Baron (2008-09), a native Australian, is on Perth's reserve roster and has not pitched yet.

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Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31.

You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection. We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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The Yakima Valley Pippins have signed two players from the University of San Diego for the upcoming season, manager Marcus McKimmy announced Thursday. The newest Pippins are Jay Schuyler, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound freshman outfielder from Laguna Niguel, Calif., and Jack Sandberg, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound freshman first baseman.

Please click here for more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Alum Nick Torres impresses Padres

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Halfway through the week!

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Some alumni news to report.

Outfielder Nick Torres (2012) made a big impression with the brass of the San Diego Padres during the Arizona Fall League. The Cal Poly product had an outstanding November after a strong season at the low- and high-A levels of their organization.

Here is more on that story from the Cal Poly website, with a link to a story on . Alum Justin Calomeni (2014), a junior pitcher, also merits a mention.

Torres was selected by the Padres in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. He is a .291 lifetime hitter (195-665) in 173 minor-league games, with eight homers and 93 RBIs. He made the Midwest League All-Star team playing for Ft. Wayne in 2015 before being promoted to Lake Elsinore in the high-A California League.

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Do not forget, our 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31.

You can also get tickets at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights, on Jefferson Avenue in downtown, just east of the Jefferson-4th Street intersection. We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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The Wenatchee AppleSox will open their 17th season, and a 33-game home schedule at Paul Thomas Sr. Field, on June 3. The schedule features 27 West Coast League matchups, and six non-league games.

The Knights and Wenatchee are the two winningest franchises in WCL history and we play June 10-12 (Friday-Sunday) in Wenatchee. Wenatchee comes to Corvallis on July 6-7; the second night will be a doubleheader.

Wenatchee's home schedule also includes a Father's Day matchup June 19, the annual Fireworks Night presented by Edward Jones July 3, and an Independence Day game the following night. Please click here for more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Friday!

Gale re-signs with Padres

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend!

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Some alumni news to report.

Catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) has re-signed with the San Diego Padres for the 2016 season. The former University of Portland star, a North Salem High School graduate, made it to the majors last year after six years in the organization and hit .100 (1-10) in 11 games as a September callup.

Rocky hit .307 (99-322) at El Paso in the triple-A Pacific Coast League in 2015, with a homer and 39 RBIs in 102 games. It was his second year in a row over the .300 mark, as he hit .303 for El Paso in 2014.

Rocky was selected by the Padres in the 24th round of the 2010 draft and played at every level of their minor-league system. He is a .258 lifetime hitter (339-1,312) in 414 minor-league games, with four homers and 157 RBIs.

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Remember, 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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The Walla Walla Sweets have signed junior pitcher Jackson Weeg of Emory University for the 2016 season. A 6-foot, 175-pound lefty, he finished his sophomore campaign with a 12-1 record and 2.59 ERA in a team-leading 100.2 innings pitched. He also struck out 98 and walked just 24.

He led the Eagles to a No. 6 ranking in the final D3baseball.com poll. He was also named a third-team All-American. Please click here for more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Wednesday!

Angels select DJ Johnson in Rule 5 draft

Happy Friday, everyone. Hope you all are ready for the weekend!

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Some alumni news to report.

Former Knights' pitcher/first baseman D.J. Johnson (2008-09), a pitcher since turning professional, is on the move again. He was selected by the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday in the third round of the triple-A portion of MLB's annual Rule 5 draft.

He had recently signed with Miami after being released by Minnesota. He is now on the Angels' triple-A reserved list, and next season should play for Salt Lake City, their affiliate in the Pacific Coast League, or be returned to the Marlins.

The former Mt. Hood CC star played for Chattanooga, Minnesota's affiliate in the double-A Southern League, in 2015, after helping us win the 2008 WCL championship and the 2009 West Division title and a berth in the WCL Championship Series.

Just 26 years old, the Beaverton native was 1-2, 4.86 in 38 appearances with the Lookouts in 2015, with four saves and 41 strikeouts in 50 innings. He was also 1-0, 0.00 with three saves and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings over seven appearances at Class A Fort Meyers before being promoted to the Lookouts.

DJ has played six seasons in the minors and in affiliated baseball since leaving Western Oregon following the 2010 season. He has also been in the Tampa Bay and Arizona organizations, and with Traverse City in the independent Frontier League.

He is 9-9 lifetime in 133 games, with 26 career saves and 173 strikeouts over 169 innings. He has a live arm and has averaged more than one strikeout per inning.

It is a great opportunity for DJ, who has not yet played in triple-A, and we wish him well.

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We have a quick update on former Knights' broadcaster Kevin Burke (2012) after speaking with him yesterday. He just returned from the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Nashville, and is preparing to start his second season as the voice of the Salem (Va.) Red Sox, Boston's affiliate in the high-A Carolina League.

In the winter he is the play-by-play voice for the High Point University (N.C.) women's basketball team, a post he's held since 2013. Kevin has also worked for Pensacola in the double-A Southern League (2013) and with the Traverse City (Mich.) Beach Bums in the independent Frontier League (2014) since joining the Knights shortly after his 2012 graduation from Virginia Tech.

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Remember, 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday!

Seth Heck re-signs with Gateway

Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hope you all are enjoying the sun break we are having today!

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We have some alum news to report. Shortstop Seth Heck (2013), a 10-day signee from Tacoma Community College who ended up earning a full-time job and playing a big role on our 2013 West Coast League championship team, has re-signed with the Gateway Grizzlies in the independent Frontier League.

Seth played at Mississippi State in 2014 and 2015 after leaving the Knights. He earned the Southeastern Conference's Scholar Athlete of the Year award in 2014 and 2015 after getting a 4.0 grade-point average and making the SEC Academic Honor Roll in every semester there. He graduated on May 9 with a degree in business administration.

He was also Mississippi State's male nominee for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship, given to the SEC's top scholar-athlete. He was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District first team for District 6, and earned 2015 Academic All-America honors.

Seth signed with the Grizzlies last May and hit .275 (53-193) in 52 games, with no homers and 17 RBIs.

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We told you about alums Scott Quinlan (2014) and Devon Barker (2012-13) playing for the Adelaide Bite in the Australian Baseball League this winter (summer in Australia). Well, here is more on that story, from our website.

Continued best of luck to both players Down Under!

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Remember, 2016 season tickets are on sale and may be purchased over the phone at 541-752-5656; by e-mail at [email protected], or online by clicking here. Current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats by purchasing before Dec. 31.

We will play 34 home games in 32 dates this summer, starting in early June. So do not miss out!

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That is all for today. News gets a little harder to find in the offseason but we still plan to post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the 2016 season starts! See you on Friday!