Mascot | Knights Daily Update with Brooks Hatch | Gallery | SEA Day
Fan Zone
Knights Daily Update
Nick Torres makes Midwest League All-Star team
August 25, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone.
------------------------
Alum Nick Torres (2012) was selected to the Midwest League postseason All-Star team after a great season with the Fort Wayne TinCaps, San Diego's affiliate in the long-season Class A League. He hit .326 in 77 games, with two homers and 40 RBIs and earned a promotion to Lake Elsinore of the high-A California League.
Nick played at Cal Poly and was San Diego's fourth-round selection in the 2014 MLB draft. Here is more on that story, from MILB.com. Also selected was Dayton (Cincinnati) pitcher Tyler Mahle, the younger brother of 2012 Knights' pitcher/first baseman Greg Mahle.
-----------------
Detroit has promoted first baseman/DH Dean Green (2008) to Toledo in the triple-A International League for the second time this season. He was playing for Erie in the double-A Eastern League in both instances.
-----------
Toronto has returned Matt "Slider Guy" Hague (2005) to Buffalo of the triple-A International League after a brief stay with the Blue Jays. He was hitless in his lone at-bat.
-----------------------
The Victoria HarbourCats announced that outfielder AJ Alcantara of UC-Irvine and infielder/outfielder PJ Floyd of Sacramento State will return in 2016. They have also signed Floyd's teammate at Sacramento State, catcher James Outman, a top recruit out of Junipero Serra HS in San Mateo, Calif. Here is more on that story from Our Sports Central.
-----------------------------
Salem (A Carolina, Red Sox) pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10) pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless relief, had five strikeouts and lowered his ERA to 1.19 in a 4-2 loss to Lynchburg on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Great Lakes (A Midwest, Dodgers) second baseman Jimmy Allen (2011) was 2-for-5 with two RBIs in an 8-4 loss to Bowling Green.
* Arkansas (AA Texas, Angels) pitcher Greg Mahle (2012) pitched two shutout innings of relief and got the win in a 1-0 victory over Tulsa.
--------------------
That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you again on Friday.
Alum Carter Bell traded to Joliet
August 24, 2015Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends and weren't smoked out by the numerous Northwest wildfires.
------------------------
Alum Carter Bell (2009), a third baseman from Oregon State who plays in the independent Frontier League, was traded to the Joliet (Ill.) Slammers by the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things recently. He is hitting .230 (44-191) in 54 games, with six homers and 21 RBIs.
The other Knights' alum in the league, Taylor Ard (2009) of Washington State and the River City Rascals, is hitting .304 (95-312) in 84 games, with 25 homers and 71 RBIs. He also played in the Frontier League All-Star Game.
-----------
Victoria assistant coach Joe Meggs has taken a job as the director of baseball operations at Washington, his alma mater. His father is the head coach of the Huskies; the younger Meggs also played in the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization. Here is more on that story, from Our Sports Central.
-----------------------
Nashville (AAA Pacific Coast, Athletics) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 4-for-5 with three runs and a double in an 8-4 win over Reno on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He raised his average to .312 since signing with the Sounds. And, here is a video of Morel making a great play to retire Knights' alum Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) of El Paso in a recent game.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Lynchburg (A Carolina, Indians) pitcher Trevor Frank (2012) earned his first save and had one strikeout in one inning of a 2-0 win over Potomac.
* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) pitcher Jimmie Sherfy (2011) earned his second save and had one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning of a 3-2 win over Biloxi.
* Eugene (A Northwest, Cubs) pitcher Casey Bloomquist (2013) allowed one hit and had four strikeouts in a scoreless three-inning start but got a no-decision in a 4-3 win over Spokane.
--------------------
That is all for today. Have a great start to your week and we will see you again on Wednesday.
Matt Andriese back in the majors!
August 21, 2015Happy Friday, everyone.
------------------------
More good news to report on the major-league front concerning a Knights' alum.
* Tampa Bay has recalled pitcher Matt Andriese (2009), the 2009 West Coast League Pitcher of the Year, from Durham of the triple-A International League. It's his third stint in the majors this season and with rosters being expanded to 40 players on Sept. 1, there's a good chance he'll be in the bigs for the rest of the year.
He is 3-3, 3.19 in 13 games with the Rays, with 34 strikeouts in 48 innings.
Matt is the third alum to be added to a big-league roster this week. San Francisco activated catcher Andrew Susac (2009) from the DL and recalled him from the minors after a short injury rehab stint in San Jose and Sacramento, and Toronto recalled first baseman Matt "Slider Guy" Hague (2005) from triple-A Buffalo.
---------------------------------------------------
Wenatchee outfielder Keston Hiura was named to a first-team Perfect Game All-America on Wednesday. He was the only WCL player selected to the first-team.
Justin Flores of Kelowna was a second-team selection and Tyler Davis and Cadyn Grenier of Bend were third-team choices. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.
-----------
The Victoria HarbourCats have signed outfielder Matt Smith of the Sacramento State Hornets for the 2016 season. A graduate of Eldorado High School in Placerville, Calif., he led all of USA high school baseball with 14 home runs this past season. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.
-----------------------
Bowling Green (A Midwest, Rays) outfielder Cade Gotta (2011) was 2-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs in a 7-4 win over Fort Wayne on Thursday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He raised his average to .423 since his recent promotion from Hudson Valley of the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Lynchburg (A Carolina, Indians) pitcher Trevor Frank (2012) had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of relief in a 2-1 win over Frederick. He lowered his ERA to 2.61.
* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI in an 8-7 win over New Britain. He raised his average to .313.
--------------------
That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.
Bend wins first WCL championship
August 19, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hope you are adjusting to the new schedule for the Blog; remember, now that the season is over, we appear on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
------------------------
Host Bend defeated Kelowna 10-4 on Monday night to win its first West Coast League championship. Congrats to the Elks, who led the South Division almost wire-to-wire, and who compiled the best record in the league. Here are more details, from the WCL web page.
Also, Bend first baseman/outfielder Billy King, a junior-to-be at Oregon State, earned WCL Player of the Week honors for Aug. 10-17 for his strong showing in the playoffs. Please click here for more on that story.
--------------------------
Two pieces of good news to announce on the major-league front concerning Knights' alums.
* San Francisco has activated catcher Andrew Susac (2009) from the DL and recalled him from the minors after a short injury rehab stint in San Jose and Sacramento earlier this week. Here is more on that story, from MLB.com. So, once again there are three Knights on the Giants: Susac, third baseman Matt Duffy (2010) and pitcher Josh Osich (2008).
Toronto recalled first baseman Matt "Slider Guy" Hague (2005) from triple-A Buffalo earlier this week, where he had been torching International League pitching to the tune of a .348 average and 10 homers and 83 RBIs in 121 games. The 29-year-old leads the International league in batting average, on-base percentage (.427), RBIs (83) and hits (161). It's the third stint in the big for Hague, who also played for Pittsburgh in 2012 and 2014. Here is more from MLB.com.
---------------------------------------------------
Former Medford Rogues assistant coach J.J. Altobelli, an ex-shortstop with the Oregon Ducks, has been named the head coach of the Portland Pickles of the new Great West League. He is an administrative assistant on coach George Horton's staff at the Oregon in the school year.
-----------
Nashville (AAA Athletics, Pacific Coast) third baseman Brent Morel (2007) was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs in a 9-4 loss to El Paso on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Chattanooga (AA Southern, Twins) pitcher DJ Johnson (2008-09) allowed no hits and had one strikeout in 1.1 innings of shutout relief in an 8-4 loss to Pensacola.
* Bowling Green (A Midwest, Rays) outfielder Cade Gotta (2011) Was 3-for-4 in an 8-3 loss to Fort Wayne. He raised his average to .444 since being prompted from Hudson Valley of the short-A New York-Penn League.
--------------------
That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Friday.
Bend takes 1-0 lead in Championship Series
August 17, 2015Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends, and are ready for what looks like a pretty hot week!
------------------------
Bend defeated Kelowna 15-9 before a crowd of 1,600+ in Kelowna on Saturday night to take a 1-0 lead in the West Coast League's Championship Series. Game 2 is tonight in Bend; if necessary, Game 3 will be played on Tuesday night.
--------------------------
Congrats are in order for Kaden Segel, the son of team president Dan Segel. His Wilshire-Riverside Little League team from Portland won the Northwest Regional on Saturday and qualified for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn. Way to go! Here is more on that story.
--------------------------
Hudson Valley (A Rays, New York-Penn) outfielder Cade Gotta (2011) was selected to the North team for the league's all-star game, to be played Tuesday night at on Aug. 18 at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md. Here is more on that story.
Cade hit .289 (44-182) in 42 games for the short-season Class A Renegades, with no homers, 15 RBIs and 12 steals. He has since been promoted to Bowling Green in the Class A full-season Midwest League, where he is hitting .357 (5-14) in four games, with two RBIs.
-----------------------------
Hot weather hurt the Yakima Valley Pippins somewhat at the box office this summer, according to this story in the Yakima Herald newspaper.
-----------
Birmingham (AA White Sox, Southern) first baseman Danny Hayes (2010) was 2-for-2 with a homer, two RBIs, a run and three walks in a 10-6 loss to Montgomery on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Chattanooga (AA Southern, Twins) pitcher DJ Johnson (2008-09) allowed no hits and had one strikeout in a shutout relief inning in an 11-4 win over Tennessee.
* Frisco (AA Texas, Rangers) DH Alex Burg (2008) was 1-for-5 with a double and two RBIs in a 7-6 win over Springfield.
--------------------
That is all for today. We are cutting back the blog to Monday, Wednesday and Friday with the end of the season. So have a great day and we will see you on Wednesday.
Elks eliminate Knights from WCL playoffs
August 13, 2015Happy Thursday, everyone.
------------------------
Another tough night at the ballpark on Wednesday, as we lost 5-2 at Bend in Game 2 of our West Coast League divisional series with the Elks. Our season is over.
Still, it was a great summer. We overcame some injuries, early departures, a horrible start and other obstacles to finish 38-24 overall, and to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth year in a row. We also drew 49,443 fans and set an all-time attendance record by nearly 7,000 fans.
The WCL should release its all-league team, and Perfect Game and Baseball America will release its top WCL prospects list shortly, and we should be represented on all three of those teams.
Now it's on to the offseason. We will review this past season, make some tweaks where necessary, start signing our 2016 players in September, and begin the process of building another pennant contender for the best fans in the country.
-----------------------------
Visalia (A California, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) hit two solo homers in a 6-0 win over San Jose on Wednesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Nashville (AAA Pacific Coast, A's) third baseman Brent Morel (2007) was 3-for-4 with a double in a 3-1 loss to Iowa.
* Chattanooga (AA Southern, Twins) pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) allowed two hits and two runs and had three strikeouts over eight innings but got a no-decision in a 4-2, 134-inning loss to Tennessee. Chattanooga pitcher DJ Johnson (2008-09) allowed one hit and had four strikeouts in three innings of shutout relief.
* Inland Empire (A California, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, two runs and an RBI in an 8-3 loss to Bakersfield.
--------------------
That is all for today; the news will be harder to come by now that the season is over. Have a great day and we will see you on Monday.
Knights face elimination tonight at Bend
August 11, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone.
------------------------
Tough night at Goss Stadium on Tuesday, as we fell 12-1 to Bend in Game 1 of our West Coast League divisional series with the Elks. We are now one game away from elimination and the end of our season.
Game 2 is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend. Alex Nesbitt of Washington (3-2, 2.77) will start for Corvallis, opposed by Portland's Jordan Wilcox (3-2, 3.78) in a matchup of right-handers.
Tune into KEJO-AM 1240 and listen to Mike Parker on the mic for all the action.
If the Elks win, they sweep the series and advance to the WCL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 and only the second time in history. If the Knights prevail, we stay in contention for our eighth championship appearance and a decisive Game 3 will be played at 6:35 p.m. Thursday. Possible starters for a potential rubber game have not been announced.
The Championship Series starts Saturday at the lower-seeded club's ballpark. Sunday is a travel day; Game 2 would be Monday and Game 3, if necessary, would be played on Tuesday.
--------------------------------
Alum Bud Norris (2005), released by Baltimore last week, has signed with the San Diego Padres and has been added to their 25-man active roster. He pitched an inning of relief on Tuesday night. He has a lifetime 55-66 record in all or part of eight major-league seasons with Baltimore and Houston, who drafted him out of Cal Poly in 2006.
Here is more on that story from the SB Nation website.
--------------------------------
Tuesday night's crowd of 977 raised the season total to a franchise-record 49,443 in 33 dates. With one possible home game remaining, the Knights are 6,716 fans ahead of their2014 total through a corresponding number of openings.
Speaking of attendance, here is a Baseball Digest story detailing attendance throughout summer baseball. We ranked 23rd out of more than 130 teams (league games only).
-----------------------------
Nashville (AAA Pacific Coast, A's) third baseman Brent Morel (2007) was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Frisco (AA Texas, Rangers) catcher Alex Burg (2008) was 2-for-3 with a run in a 6-1 loss to Tulsa.
* Grand Junction (R Pioneer, Rockies) catcher Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 2-for-3 with a double and a run in a 4-3 loss to Great Falls.
--------------------
That is all for today; have a great day and cheer for the Knights tonight in Game 2.
Knights host Bend tonight in playoff opener
August 11, 2015Happy Tuesday, everyone.
------------------------
The Knights open the divisional round of the West Coast League playoffs at 6:40 tonight against Bend at Goss Stadium. Game 2 and (if necessary) Game 3 will be in Bend on Wednesday and Thursday.
Bellingham hosts Kelowna tonight in Game 1 of the other semifinal. The WCL Championship Series will start Saturday; if we're in it, we will host Game 1.
Tickets for tonight's game are $10 for reserved and $6 for general admission. Season-ticket holders have until 10 a.m. this morning to reserve their regular seats for this game. They are available by calling 541-752-5656; by visiting the Knights' office at 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite D, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today or by e-mailing the Knights at [email protected].
Here is more on the playoffs, from the WCL website.
See you at the ballpark!
--------------------------------
Utility Nick Madrigal was a finalist for West Coast League Player of the Week honors, but was not selected. That honor went to Cowlitz pitcher Chris Castellanos instead; click here for that story.
--------------------------------
Here is a rundown of WCL alums in pro baseball, also from the WCL website.
-----------------------------
Tri-City (A Northwest, Padres) shortstop Peter Van Gansen was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI in a 9-5 loss to Spokane on Monday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Lots of rainouts and lots of leagues were idle on Monday, so we have no honorable mentions.
--------------------
That is all for today; have a great day and get to the ballpark tonight for our playoff opener against Bend.
Knights face elimination tonight at Bend
August 11, 2015Happy Wednesday, everyone.
------------------------
Tough night at Goss Stadium on Tuesday, as we fell 12-1 to Bend in Game 1 of our West Coast League divisional series with the Elks. We are now one game away from elimination and the end of our season.
Game 2 is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Vince Genna Stadium in Bend. Alex Nesbitt of Washington (3-2, 2.77) will start for Corvallis, opposed by Portland's Jordan Wilcox (3-2, 3.78) in a matchup of right-handers.
Tune into KEJO-AM 1240 and listen to Mike Parker on the mic for all the action.
If the Elks win, they sweep the series and advance to the WCL Championship Series for the first time since 2010 and only the second time in history. If the Knights prevail, we stay in contention for our eighth championship appearance and a decisive Game 3 will be played at 6:35 p.m. Thursday. Possible starters for a potential rubber game have not been announced.
The Championship Series starts Saturday at the lower-seeded team�s venue. Sunday is a travel day; Game 2 would be Monday and Game 3, if necessary, would be played on Tuesday.
--------------------------------
Alum Bud Norris (2005), released by Baltimore last week, has signed with the San Diego Padres and has been added to their 25-man active roster. He has a lifetime 55-66 record in all or part of eight major-league seasons with Baltimore and Houston, who drafted him out of Cal Poly in 2006.
Here is more on that story from the SB Nation website.
--------------------------------
Tuesday night's crowd of 977 raised the season total to a franchise-record 49,443 in 33 dates. With one possible home game remaining, the Knights are 6,716 fans ahead of their 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings.
Speaking of attendance, here is a Baseball Digest story detailing attendance throughout summer baseball. We ranked 23rd out of more than 130 teams (league games only).
-----------------------------
Nashville (AAA Pacific Coast, A's) third baseman Brent Morel (2007) was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI Ton Tuesday night to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Frisco (AA Texas, Rangers) catcher Alex Burg (2008) was 2-for-3 with a run in a 6-1 loss to Tulsa.
* Grand Junction (R Pioneer, Rockies) catcher Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 2-for-3 with a double and a run in a 4-3 loss to Great Falls.
--------------------
That is all for today; have a great day and cheer for the Knights tonight in Game 2.
Knights start playoffs with Bend on Tuesday
August 10, 2015Happy Monday, everyone. It's nice to be back after a short break; lots to catch up on so let's get started.
------------------------
The Knights clinched the wild-card berth for the upcoming West Coast League playoffs with a 7-4 win over Medford on Saturday night. It will be our ninth consecutive playoff appearance; the previous eight were as division champions.
We begin the best-of-3 WCL divisional round at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday with a home game against the South Division champion Bend Elks. Tickets are $10 for reserved and $6 for general admission.
Season-ticket holders have until 10 a.m. Tuesday morning to reserve their regular seats for this game. They are available by calling 541-752-5656; by visiting the team office at 425 SW Madison Ave, Suite D, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. today and Tuesday, or by e-mailing the Knights at [email protected].
Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be Wednesday and Thursday in Bend. The best-of-3 WCL Championship Series begins Saturday; if we advance we will host the opener.
Bellingham and Kelowna play in the other divisional series, starting Tuesday in Bellingham.
See you at the ballpark!
--------------------------------
Sunday's crowd of 2,286 raised the season total to a franchise-record 48,679 in 32 dates. We are 6,746 fans ahead of our 2014 total through a corresponding number of openings. Please click here for WCL-only attendance figures.
--------------------------------
Some alum news to report:
* Shortstop Peter Van Gansen (2013) of the Tri-City Dust Devils hit a 10th-inning walk-off single to give the Northwest League a 6-5 win in its inaugural All-Star Game against the Pioneer League on Aug. 4. Van Gansen, San Diego's 12th-round pick in this year's draft, also walked twice and received the MiLB.com Top Star Award. Here is more on that story, from MiLB.com.
* DH/first baseman Joe Duffin (2013-14) of Connecticut won the Northwoods League's Home Run Derby and played in the NWL Dream Showcase on Aug. 4. He plays for the Rochester (Minn.) Honkers and his 10 homers tied for third in the league.
------------------
Some roster news to report:
* Pitcher Slater Lee of Cal Poly has an injured knee and has been shut down for the summer. He was 2-1, 2.56 in nine games, with 37 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.
---------------------------
Some MLB alum news to report:
* Infielder Brent Morel (2006-07) of Cal Poly has signed a free-agent deal with the Oakland Athletics and is playing for Nashville in the Pacific Coast League. He recently declared free agency after being designated for assignment on July 28.
* Pitcher Matt Boyd (2010) was traded from Toronto to Detroit as part of the David Price deal and won his first major-league game by defeating Kansas City 2-1 on Aug. 5. Here is more on that story, from MLB.com.
Pitcher Josh Osich (2008) was recalled from triple-A Sacramento by the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 7 for his second stint with the big club.
* The Baltimore Orioles have released pitcher Bud Norris (2005). The Cal Poly alum is free to sign with anyone.
* The Cleveland Indians traded lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski (2006) to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Abraham Almonte. Zep played at UC Riverside.
----------------------------
Pitcher Kyle Molnar of the Walla Walla Sweets tossed the eighth no-hitter in WCL history on July 27th against Kitsap to earn a share of the WCL Player of the Week honors for July 27-Aug. 2. He had eight strikeouts in a 2-0 victory.
Molnar shared the honor with Victoria infielder Griffin Andreychuk of Seattle University, who went 12-for-22 with three home runs, 13 runs scored and 12 RBIs. Here is more on that story from the WCL website.
-----------------------------
Visalia (A California, Diamondbacks) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) homered, doubled twice, scored twice and drove in a run in an 18-8 loss to Inland Empire on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He raised his average to .345.
Honorable mention goes to:
* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) DH Dean Green (2008) was 1-for-4 with two RBIs in a 5-0 win over Harrisburg.
* Frisco (AA Texas, Rangers) catcher Alex Burg (2008) was 1-for-3 with a homer in an 8-6 loss to San Antonio.
* Birmingham (AA Southern, White Sox) first baseman Danny Hayes (2010) was 1-for-3 with two RBIs in a 3-2 win over Pensacola.
--------------------
That is all for today. Have a great day and get to the ballpark on Tuesday for our playoff opener against Bend.
