Susac, Stewart back in the majors

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

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Good news to report on the alumni side of our franchise. Catchers Andrew Susac (2009) and Chris Stewart (2001) have been recalled to the major leagues by San Francisco and Pittsburgh, respectively, after beginning the season in the minor leagues.

Formerly at Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League, Susac was 2-for-3 with a run on Tuesday in a victory over The Dodgers. Here is more on his recall from the San Jose Mercury-News.

"As for Susac, [manager Bruce] Bochy hinted that he would be used more extensively than a typical third catcher. Or even a second catcher.

"He's a guy who will be in the mix," said Bochy, who could look to play Buster Posey at first base more often in place of the slumping Brandon Belt, especially with the Dodgers set to throw left-handers Brett Anderson and Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Susac's fingers are still blue after he was struck on the right hand by a foul tip of the bat of Roger Kieschnick last week, but he said the numbness has subsided and he's able to grip both the ball and his bat with no issues."

Stewart started the season at double-A Altoona and at triple-A Indianapolis while on injury rehab. He was 0-for-1 on Tuesday as a pinch-hitter in a loss to the Cubs. Here is more on that story from the GoErie.com website.

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Incoming Knight Cameron Bishop, a freshman left-handed pitcher/infielder at UC Irvine, was nominated for Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors but did not win.

Alum Kyle Treadway (2013) of Pacific University was nominated for Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week honors, but was not selected.

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Former Knights intern Jenny Baker (2010-11) has been promoted to Merchandise Manager at adidas in Portland. An Oregon State graduate, Jenny has worked there for several years since returning to Oregon after a stint with Burlington Coats on the East Coast.

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Indianapolis (AAA International, Pirates) third baseman Brent Morel (2006-07) was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in a 5-4 loss to Columbus on Tuesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* High Desert (A California, Rangers) DH Alex Burg (2008) was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in a 4-3 win over Lake Elsinore.

* Richmond (AA Eastern, Giants) pitcher Josh Osich (2008) had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of relief in a 10-4 loss to Bowie.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 position players. We will have the numbers for the pitchers on Friday.

CAMERON BISHOP: The infielder from UC Irvine is hitting .231 (18-78) in 31 games, with four homers and 21 RBIs.

HAYDEN CALVERT: The Corban outfielder is hitting .223 (21-94) in 31 games, with three homers and 14 RBIs.

ELLIOTT CARY: The Oregon State outfielder is hitting .189 (7-37) in 19 games, with a homer and three RBIs.

ANDY COSGROVE: The Washington catcher is 0-for-1 in one game.

CHRISTIAN DONAHUE: The Oregon State second baseman is hitting .281 (25-89) in 31 games, with seven RBIs.

MICHAEL FARRIS: The outfielder from UC Riverside is redshirting this year.

CLAY FISHER: The UC Santa Barbara infielder is hitting .264 (29-110) in 33 games, with seven RBIs.

JOSHUA GEORGE: The Cal Poly outfielder is hitting .167 (2-12) in 13 games, with no homers and one RBI.

TYLER HAMILTON: The George Fox catcher is hitting .214 (9-42) in 19 games, with five RBIs.

KJ HARRISON: The Oregon State first baseman is hitting .345 (49-142) in 37 games, with seven homers and 39 RBIs.

AUSTIN KELLY: The Linn-Benton infielder is hitting .300 (27-90) in 26 games, with a homer and 19 RBIs.

DALTON KELLY: The UC Santa Barbara first baseman is hitting .262 (27-103) in 32 games, with three homers and 18 RBIs.

COLE KREUTER: The UC Irvine infielder is hitting .268 (15-56) in 22 games, with nine RBIs.

TYGER LINER: The LBCC catcher is hitting .234 (11-47) in 23 games, with five RBIs.

RYAN MATRANGA: The University of San Francisco catcher is hitting .297 (11-37) in 18 games, with a homer and six RBIs.

CLAY MOTT: The George Fox infielder is hitting .186 (26-140) in 36 games, with eight RBIs.

HENRY RONDEAU: The LBCC outfielder is hitting .226 (19-84) in 25 games, with 15 RBIs.

TRAVIS SANDERS: The Portland infielder has not played yet.

JACKSON SOTO: The Oregon State infielder is hitting .000 (0-4) in four games.

JES STAPLES: The Bellarmine outfielder is hitting .313 (40-128) in 40 games, with 15 RBIs.

TAYLOR TRAVESS: The infielder from Mt. Hood CC is hitting .269 (21-78) in 30 games, with nine RBIs.

AJ VALENCIA: The George Fox outfielder is hitting .333 (37-111) in 34 games, with 11 RBIs.

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The Kitsap BlueJackets have added three players from San Jose State and another from Pierce College to their 2015 roster, the team announced Monday.

The Spartans coming aboard are sophomore Brett Bautista; sophomore catcher Jack Veasey, and freshman infielder Justin Beck. Also joining is middle infielder Leo Valenti, a Pierce College sophomore who will play at Marshall University next season.

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Bhootan LLC, which has led the Victoria HarbourCats since last fall under the primary guidance of Matthew Stoudt, has agreed to terms that will transfer ownership of the WCL franchise to a company called Shwing Batter Investment Group. The four principles of that group are Ken Swanson, Jim Swanson, Richard Harder and John Wilson. Here are more details on that transaction, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Andriese suffers first loss, to Yankees

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the tremendous weather.

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Alum Matt Andriese (2009), a rookie right-handed pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays out of UC Riverside, suffered his first major-league loss on Sunday in a 5-3 setback to the Yankees. He gave up four runs in 3.1 innings against the powerful Yankees lineup.

"It never stops. They always have a good hitter in there," Andriese said afterward. "They can mix and match with all their switch-hitters, and you've got to just go right after them."

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Most of our Corvallis Knights alums in affiliated baseball have received their 2015 assignments. Here is a roundup of who is where:

TRIPLE-A: Tyler Anderson (Albuquerque, Rockies); Sam Gaviglio (Tacoma, Mariners); Rocky Gale (El Paso, Padres); Brent Morel (Indianapolis, Pirates).

DOUBLE-A: Matt Boyd (New Hampshire, Blue Jays); Kyle Kraus (Portland, Red Sox); Josh Osich (Richmond, Giants); Greg Peavey (Chattanooga, Twins); Jimmie Sherfy (Mobile, Diamondbacks); Drew Garcia (Birmingham, White Sox); Dean Green (Erie, Tigers); Mitch Haniger (Mobile, Diamondbacks); Danny Hayes (Birmingham, White Sox).

SINGLE-A: Trevor Frank (Lynchburg, Indians); Jace Fry (Winston-Salem, White Sox); Chase Johnson (San Jose, Giants); Scott Lyman (Jupiter, Marlins); Greg Mahle (Inland Empire, Angels); Ben Wetzler (Greensboro, Marlins); Jimmy Allen (Great Lakes, Dodgers); David Armendariz (Lake County, Indians); Alex Burg (High Desert, Rangers); Blake Drake (Peoria, Cardinals); Grant Fink (Lake County, Indians); Nick Torres (Fort Wayne, Padres).

NOT YET ASSIGNED: David Andriese (Pirates); Chris Rabago (Rockies); Cade Gotta (Rays); Scott Schultz (Diamondbacks); Chris Johnson (Giants).

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High Desert (A California, Rangers) DH Alex Burg (2008) was 2-for-3 with four runs, a homer, three RBIs and two walks in a 15-11 win over Lancaster on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) pitcher Jimmie Sherfy (2011) had a scoreless inning of relief, with one strikeout, in a 6-2 loss to Biloxi.

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The Victoria HarbourCats are expected to announce four new owners at a news conference on Tuesday at Sports Traders Diamond at Royal Athletic Park. The sale is expected to be approved at meetings in Tacoma today. Here are more details, from the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper.

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The Yakima Pippins have added right-handed pitcher Jake Bird and outfielder Dayton Provost of UCLA for the 2015 season. Here are full details, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

More on Matt Andriese

Happy Friday, everyone.

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We reported earlier this week that alum Matt Andriese (2009), a rookie right-handed pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays out of UC Riverside, had made his MLB starting debut on Tuesday night and went 3.2 innings in a non-decision at Toronto.

We have more on Andriese for you, from the homepage of our website. Please click here for more details.

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Concordia pitcher Jason Snodgrass (2014), already named the Cascade Conference's Red Lion Baseball Pitcher of the Week, has also been named the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week for his one-hitter against Simpson College last Saturday.

A senior from Ramona, Calif., Snodgrass struck out 10 and walked one before settling for the 1-hitter. He retired 24 of the first 25 batter he faced, serving up a walk in the third as the only Simpson baserunner until the final frame.

Here is more on that story, from the Concordia website. Congrats to Jason for both honors!

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Tacoma (AAA Pacific Coast, Mariners) pitcher Sam Gaviglio (2009) allowed two hits and one run and had six strikeouts in six innings in a 3-1 win over Albuquerque on Thursday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. He got a no-decision.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Sacramento (AAA Pacific Coast, Giants) catcher Andrew Susac (2009) was 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI in a 7-4 loss to Las Vegas.

* Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) first baseman Dean Green was 2-for-3 with a run and two walks in a 7-3 win over Bowie.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 pitchers. We updated the position players on Wednesday.

SEAN BARRY: The right-hander from Santa Barbara City College is 6-3 in 11 games, with a 1.43 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.

CAMERON BISHOP: The lefty from UC Irvine is 0-0, 0.00 in seven games, with 14 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.

NOAH BREMER: The Washington righty is 4-2, 1.80 in 10 games, with 23 strikeouts in 50 innings.

CHRIS CLEMENTS: The UC Santa Barbara righty is 0-0, 3.86 in four games, with five strikeouts in seven innings.

DAKODY CLEMMER: The Central Arizona JC righty is 5-3, 3.68 in 10 games, with 49 strikeouts in 58.2 innings.

COLE DOHERTY: The Portland lefty is 1-4, 7.36 in six games, with 19 strikeouts in 25.2 innings.

CHASE KAPLAN: The lefty from Western Nevada JC is 3-4, 4.24 in 11 games, with 42 strikeouts in 51 innings.

SLATER LEE: The righty from Cal Poly is 1-0, 4.32 in seven games, with three strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

MICHAEL MARTIN: The UC-Irvine righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He is expected to return to action soon.

HARRISON MCGHEE: The Concordia righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He hopes to return by the end of the season.

ALEX NESBITT: The Washington righty is 1-0, 4.50 in eight games, with seven strikeouts in 12 innings.

MERRICK PATITO: The Chaffey College righty is 2-2, 6.63 in 13 games, with 35 strikeouts in 38 innings.

MATT SMITH: The righty from Chapman is 5-1, 2.29 in nine games, with 56 strikeouts in 51 innings.

AUSTIN SODDERS: The Riverside City College lefty is 7-1, 1.98 in 10 games, with 52 strikeouts in 72.2 innings.

GARY STEINDORF: The Western Oregon righty is 0-0, 8.64 in 11 games, with a save and nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

JUSTIN VERNIA: The Tacoma CC righty is 5-0, 1.81 in seven games, with 41 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.

JOSH WALKER: The Grand Canyon righty is 0-1, 13.50 in five games, with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

RYAN WALKER: The Washington State righty is 0-0, 2.28 in 17 games, with 28 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.

JOEY WISE: The lefty from GateWay CC is 1-4, 4.95 in 12 games, with 43 strikeouts in 40 innings.

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The Wenatchee AppleSox have signed incoming UCLA freshmen Brian Gadsby, a right-handed pitcher from Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, Calif.; Tyler Nevin, an infielder from Poway High School in Poway, Calif., and Daniel Amaral, an outfielder from Huntington Beach High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., for the 2015 season. Here are full details, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Andriese solid in MLB starting debut

Happy Wednesday everyone.

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Alum Matt Andriese (2009), a rookie right-handed pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays out of UC Riverside, made his MLB starting debut on Tuesday night and went 3.2 innings at Toronto. He allowed five hits and two runs, had two strikeouts, and threw 72 pitches, 39 for strikes. He got a no-decision.

Wrote reporter Erik Hahmann, the Tampa Bay correspondent for the SB Nation website, afterward in reviewing Andriese's performance:

"Most eyes were on Rays' starter Matt Andriese, making his Major League debut. He hadn't cracked the 80-pitch barrier during the spring, so expecting him to go deep into the game was a longshot. The 3.2 innings were about what you could hope from him in that situation.

"He worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the second inning in part thanks to a beautiful sequence to Russell Martin. Three pitches, all strikes, with the last one coming in around Martin's eyes, which he flailed at. Andriese got into more trouble in the fourth after allowing three singles to the first four batters and was pulled shortly thereafter.

"He certainly has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues; his battle will be harnessing his control. The command is there. The pitches have the necessary life to them. Whether he ends up in a rotation someday, or, more likely, in a bullpen, he should have a decent career ahead of him if he can add a touch more control."

He certainly earned another chance, and his control problems could be attributed to nerves. He had a 3.5-1 strikeout-walk ratio in the minors.

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Concordia pitcher Jason Snodgrass (2014) was named the Cascade Conference's Red Lion Baseball Pitcher of the Week. A senior from Ramona, Calif., took a no-hitter into the 9th inning in a 3-0 win against Simpson on Saturday.

Snodgrass struck out 10 and walked one before settling for the 1-hitter. He retired 24 of the first 25 batter he faced, serving up a walk in the third as the only Simpson baserunner until the final frame.

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Erie (AA Eastern, Tigers) first baseman Dean Green (2008) was a combined 4-for-7 with a run, a homer, a double and three RBIs in a doubleheader sweep of Binghamton on Tuesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* High Desert (A California, Rangers) third baseman Alex Burg (2008) was 3-for-5 in a 1-0 win over Lake Elsinore.

* Fort Wayne (A Midwest, Padres) outfielder Nick Torres (2012) was 2-for-4 with two runs in a 6-4 loss to Lansing.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 position players. We will have the numbers for the pitchers on Friday.

CAMERON BISHOP: The infielder from UC Irvine is hitting .242 (16-66) in 27 games, with three homers and 18 RBIs.

HAYDEN CALVERT: The Corban outfielder is hitting .239 (21-88) in 27 games, with three homers and 14 RBIs.

ELLIOTT CARY: The Oregon State outfielder is hitting .182 (6-33) in 17 games, with a homer and three RBIs.

ANDY COSGROVE: The Washington catcher is 0-for-1 in one game.

CHRISTIAN DONAHUE: The Oregon State second baseman is hitting .269 (21-78) in 28 games, with seven RBIs.

MICHAEL FARRIS: The outfielder from UC Riverside is redshirting this year.

CLAY FISHER: The UC Santa Barbara infielder is hitting .235 (23-98) in 29 games, with five RBIs.

JOSHUA GEORGE: The Cal Poly outfielder is hitting .091 (1-11) in 11 games, with no homers or RBIs.

TYLER HAMILTON: The George Fox catcher is hitting .225 (9-40) in 17 games, with five RBIs.

KJ HARRISON: The Oregon State first baseman is hitting .356 (47-132) in 34 games, with seven homers and 36 RBIs.

AUSTIN KELLY: The Linn-Benton infielder is hitting .329 (25-76) in 22 games, with a homer and 18 RBIs.

DALTON KELLY: The UC Santa Barbara first baseman is hitting .262 (27-103) in 32 games, with three homers and 18 RBIs.

COLE KREUTER: The UC Irvine infielder is hitting .250 (13-52) in 19 games, with seven RBIs.

TYGER LINER: The LBCC catcher is hitting .189 (7-37) in 20 games, with three RBIs.

RYAN MATRANGA: The University of San Francisco catcher is hitting .212 (7-33) in 16 games, with a homer and five RBIs.

CLAY MOTT: The George Fox infielder is hitting .178 (23-129) in 33 games, with seven RBIs.

HENRY RONDEAU: The LBCC outfielder is hitting .221 (17-77) in 22 games, with 14 RBIs.

TRAVIS SANDERS: The Portland infielder has not played yet.

JACKSON SOTO: The Oregon State infielder is hitting .000 (0-4) in four games.

JES STAPLES: The Bellarmine outfielder is hitting .296 (32-108) in 31 games, with 13 RBIs.

TAYLOR TRAVESS: The infielder from Mt. Hood CC is hitting .294 (20-68) in 25 games, with nine RBIs.

AJ VALENCIA: The George Fox outfielder is hitting .323 32-99) in 31 games, with nine RBIs.

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The Kitsap BlueJackets have signed Eastern Arizona JC freshman pitchers Justin Phillips and Cameron Weinberg and Tacoma CC sophomore pitchers Jake Brewer and Thomas Simpson for the 2015 season. Simpson has signed with Liberty University for the 2015-16 academic year.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Stewart takes next step to major-league return

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you all had great weekends.

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Alum Chris Stewart (2001) should be back in the major leagues shortly. The veteran Pittsburgh catcher, our 2001 MVP out of Riverside City College, has been assigned to triple-A Indianapolis of the Pacific Coast League on a rehab assignment. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday in his first start with the Indians.

He's been battling a sore hamstring. Stewart played for the Altoona Curve in the double-A Eastern League earlier in his rehab assignment and was 2-for-6 (.333) in two games.

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Alum Eric Massingham (2006-07) of Cal Poly is now playing for the Stuttgart Reds in a German professional league. So, he's been placed on the suspended list by the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League, his former club.

Mass earned WCL postseason honors both seasons he played for the Knights and has been a mainstay for the Otters since joining them when his affiliated baseball career in the Philadelphia organization ended after several seasons in the minors.

Here is more on the Stuttgart team. Mind you, it's helpful to be fluent in German if you want to understand anything.

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Speaking of alums, we are starting to compile the 2015 teams for our Knights in professional baseball. We should have that later this week. We can tell you the following 2014 pro players were released from affiliated ball, or were granted free agency and remain unsigned:

Catchers Jake Rodriguez (2010) and Bo Altobelli (2010); pitchers Max Beatty (2010-12), A.J. Burke (2012), Nick Struck (2009), Dylan Stuart (2011-12) and Justin Hepner (2011); infielders Jim Murphy (2007), Kavin Keyes (2013) and Taylor Ard (2009), and outfielders Adam Melker (2008-09) and Dayton Alexander (2011).

Rodriguez is at Oregon State, helping coach and finishing his degree. Stuart and Ard signed with teams in the Frontier League.

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The Cowlitz Black Bears have signed outfielder Isaac Benard of Mount Hood Community College, right-handed pitchers Karsen Lindell of Washington and Mitch Hickey of Oregon State, and infielders Curtis Perrin and Sean Sutton of Seattle University for the 2015 season.

Benard, a native of Richland, Wash., is the son of Marvin Benard, who played for the San Francisco Giants from 1995-2003. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

Knights sign USF catcher Ryan Matranga

Happy Friday everyone.

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More roster news to report. The Knights have signed catcher Ryan Matranga of the University of San Francisco for the 2015 season.

A 5-foot-10, 170-pounder from Mission Viejo, Calif,, Matranga earned first-team all-WCL honors at catcher at Kitsap in 2014. He hit .310 in 33 games, with two homers and 21 RBIs for the BlueJackets.

He started 33 of the 44 games he played in at USF in 2014, and hit .211 (23-109), with seven RBIs. He started 43 of his 45 games as a freshman in 2013 and hit .185 (23-124), with three homers and 18 RBIs. He made the West Coast Conference all-freshman team.

He played baseball and basketball at Santa Margarita Catholic High School before enrolling at USF.

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OSU freshman and 2015 Knight KJ Harrison of Oregon State has been named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the country's top player. He is hitting .3651, with seven homers and 32 RBIs, heading into this weekend's Civil War Series in Eugene.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 pitchers. We updated the position players on Wednesday.

SEAN BARRY: The right-hander from Santa Barbara City College is 6-2 in 10 games, with a 1.56 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 63.1 innings.

CAMERON BISHOP: The lefty from UC Irvine is 0-0, 0.00 in four games, with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

NOAH BREMER: The Washington righty is 4-2, 1.80 in 10 games, with 23 strikeouts in 50 innings.

CHRIS CLEMENTS: The UC Santa Barbara righty is 0-0, 3.86 in four games, with five strikeouts in seven innings.

DAKODY CLEMMER: The Central Arizona JC righty is 4-3, 3.25 in nine games, with 44 strikeouts in 52.2 innings.

COLE DOHERTY: The Portland lefty is 1-3, 7.97 in five games, with 17 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.

CHASE KAPLAN: The lefty from Western Nevada JC is 3-3, 3.28 in 10 games, with 42 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

SLATER LEE: The righty from Cal Poly is 0-0, 4.70 in six games, with three strikeouts in 7.2 innings.

MICHAEL MARTIN: The UC-Irvine righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He is expected to return to action next month.

HARRISON MCGHEE: The Concordia righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He hopes to return by the end of the season.

ALEX NESBITT: The Washington righty is 1-0, 4.09 in seven games, with seven strikeouts in 11 innings.

MERRICK PATITO: The Chaffey College righty is 1-2, 7.09 in 12 games, with 31 strikeouts in 33 innings.

MATT SMITH: The righty from Chapman is 5-1, 2.23 in eight games, with 55 strikeouts in 48.1 innings.

AUSTIN SODDERS: The Riverside City College lefty is 7-0, 1.34 in nine games, with 49 strikeouts in 67.1 innings.

GARY STEINDORF: The Western Oregon righty is 0-0, 8.64 in 11 games, with a save and nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

JUSTIN VERNIA: The Tacoma CC righty is 5-0, 1.86 in six games, with 37 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.

JOSH WALKER: The Grand Canyon righty is 0-1, 13.50 in five games, with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

RYAN WALKER: The Washington State righty is 0-0, 2.32 in 16 games, with 23 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.

JOEY WISE: The lefty from GateWay CC is 1-3, 5.00 in 11 games, with 40 strikeouts in 36 innings.

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The Klamath Falls Gems have signed Chase Calabuig from San Diego State, Harrison Ramey from the College of Southern Idaho and Riley Moore from St. Martin's for the 2015 season. Here is more on that story, from the Klamath Falls Herald and News newspaper.

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The Wenatchee AppleSox have signed Andrew Helmstadter, a sophomore catcher from Northwest Nazarene University, and Dustin Hamilton, a junior left-handed pitcher from Central Washington, for the 2015 season. Here is more from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Mack the Knight gets a makeover

Happy Wednesday everyone.

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Big day in Knights Nation on Monday; we unveiled a new-look Mack the Knight mascot and his new sidekick, Lil' King. Maybe you already saw the story on our website or on Facebook; if you didn't, please click here for more details.

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We expect UC Irvine freshman Cameron Bishop to play outfield for the Knights this summer. However, he also pitches, and was nominated for Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for March 30-April 5. He pitched five scoreless innings and had three strikeouts in three relief appearances, but wasn't selected.

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Some bad news to report about our 2015 ballclub. Pitcher Angel Landazuri of UC Riverside will miss the season so he can attend summer school, and thus won't be returning to Corvallis.

Angel was 4-0, 2.43 in 10 regular-season games for the Knights in 2014, with 35 strikeouts in 48 innings. He was 0-0, 1.80 in his lone playoff start, with three strikeouts in five innings, and was a second-team West Coast League all-star and the WCL Player of the Week for July 14-20.

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We also have some tough news on the alumni front.

The Oakland A's have released pitcher A.J. Burke (2012) after two seasons in their organization. The Western Oregon product was 7-7 lifetime in 30 games, with a 4.78 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 92.1 innings.

He was Oakland's 31st-round pick in the 2013 draft after earning Great Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year honors as a senior. He played for their Arizona Rookie League team in 2013 and with Vermont in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League in 2014.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 position players. We will have the numbers for the pitchers on Friday.

CAMERON BISHOP: The infielder from UC Irvine is hitting .236 (13-55) in 22 games, with three homers and 15 RBIs.

HAYDEN CALVERT: The Corban outfielder is hitting .239 (21-88) in 27 games, with three homers and 14 RBIs.

ELLIOTT CARY: The Oregon State outfielder is hitting .138 (4-29) in 16 games, with a homer and two RBIs.

ANDY COSGROVE: The Washington catcher is 0-for-1 in one game.

CHRISTIAN DONAHUE: The Oregon State second baseman is hitting .271 (19-70) in 26 games, with seven RBIs.

MICHAEL FARRIS: The outfielder from UC Riverside is redshirting this year.

CLAY FISHER: The UC Santa Barbara infielder is hitting .238 (20-84) in 25 games, with three RBIs.

JOSHUA GEORGE: The Cal Poly outfielder is hitting .100 (1-10) in 10 games, with no homers or RBIs.

TYLER HAMILTON: The George Fox catcher is hitting .176 (5-34) in 15 games, with three RBIs.

KJ HARRISON: The Oregon State first baseman is hitting .361 (43-119) in 31 games, with seven homers and 32 RBIs.

AUSTIN KELLY: The Linn-Benton infielder is hitting .328 (22-67) in 19 games, with a homer and 15 RBIs.

DALTON KELLY: The UC Santa Barbara first baseman is hitting .272 (25-92) in 28 games, with three homers and 17 RBIs.

COLE KREUTER: The UC Irvine infielder is hitting .275 (11-40) in 15 games, with six RBIs.

TYGER LINER: The LBCC catcher is hitting .182 (6-33) in 18 games, with three RBIs.

CLAY MOTT: The George Fox infielder is hitting .168 (19-113) in 29 games, with five RBIs.

HENRY RONDEAU: The LBCC outfielder is hitting .215 (14-65) in 19 games, with 12 RBIs.

TRAVIS SANDERS: The Portland infielder has not played yet.

JACKSON SOTO: The Oregon State infielder is hitting .000 (0-4) in four games.

JES STAPLES: The Bellarmine outfielder is hitting .247 (22-89) in 28 games, with 12 RBIs.

TAYLOR TRAVESS: The infielder from Mt. Hood CC is hitting .288 (17-59) in 21 games, with eight RBIs.

AJ VALENCIA: The George Fox outfielder is hitting .301 (25-83) in 27 games, with six RBIs.

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The Kitsap BlueJackets have signed pitchers Alex Emerson and Shawn Domke and infielder Brenden Shaffer of Western Oregon, and pitcher Chris Myjack and infielder Chris Maranto of Butler for the 2015 season.

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The Cowlitz Black Bears have signed five players for the 2015 season. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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The Bellingham Bells have signed three players for the 2015 season. Here is more from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.

Five Knights on opening-day MLB rosters

Happy Monday everyone. Hope you all had great weekends.

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Major League Baseball began the 2015 season on Sunday night. And once again the Knights' franchise will be well-represented, as five of our alums are on opening-day MLB rosters.

Knights at the highest level of baseball are:

* Catcher Chris Stewart (2001) of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He's on the 15-day DL, retroactive to March 27, with a strained hamstring.

* Pitcher Bud Norris (2005) of the Baltimore Orioles.

* Pitcher Marc Rzepczynski (2006) of the Cleveland Indians.

* Pitcher Matt Andriese (2009) of the Tampa Bay Rays. Here is more on that story from the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper.

* Infielder Matt Duffy (2010) of the San Francisco Giants.

Congrats to all five guys who made it, especially Andriese, who is on a big-league roster for the first time in his career. He was the 2009 West Coast League Pitcher of the Year. His younger brother, David Andriese, played for us in 2010 and 2011 and is in the Pirates' organization.

We expect to see catcher Andrew Susac (2009) and infielder Brent Morel (2006-07) in the majors with the Giants and Pirates at some point this year as well.

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Some other alums were late assignees to minor league camp.

* Infielder Dean Green (2008) was sent down by the Tigers.

* Catcher Rocky Gale (2007, 2009) was sent to triple-A by the Padres.

We will have weekly updates on our alums in the minors, and resume our "Knights Minor-League Player of the Day" feature once the season gets underway.

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Another alum starts the season in the majors, on the front-office side. Former intern Rob Morse (2007) begins his career with the New York Yankees public relations department this year after two seasons with the Texas Rangers. Click here to read all about it.

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The Wenatchee AppleSox have added Keston Hiura, a freshman outfielder; Mitchell Holland, a junior infielder, and Sean Sparling, a sophomore right-hander, from UC Irvine, to their 2015 roster. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.

Also, former AppleSox ace Trevor Luebking of Pacific Lutheran has signed with the Frontier Grays in the independent Frontier League. He was recently released by Miami.

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The Klamath Falls Gems have signed one returnee and added a newcomer to their 2015 roster. Here is more from the Klamath Falls Herald and News newspaper.

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That is all for today. See you on Wednesday.

Former, future Knights lead Beavers over Bruins

Happy Friday, everyone.

Thursday was a big night for the Beavers and some former/future Knights. The Beavers edged No. 6 UCLA 3-2 at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Game 1 of their weekend series.

Corvallis alums Gabe Clark (2013) and Michael Howard (2014) and future Knight Christian Donahue (2015) each had an RBI for the Beavers, against WCL alums James Kaprillian and Cody Poteet. It was a great win for OSU; the series continues tonight and on Saturday.

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We have released our promotional schedule for the upcoming season. Lots of great nights and great reasons to get out to the ballpark to watch your Corvallis Knights! Here is more on that story, from our website.

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As promised earlier this week, here is our story on alum Peter Van Gansen (2013, who is having a great junior year at Cal Poly.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 pitchers. We updated the position players on Wednesday.

SEAN BARRY: The right-hander from Santa Barbara City College is 5-2 in nine games, with a 1.49 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 60.1 innings.

NOAH BREMER: The Washington righty is 3-2, 1.80 in nine games, with 21 strikeouts in 45 innings.

CHRIS CLEMENTS: The UC Santa Barbara righty is 0-0, 3.86 in four games, with five strikeouts in seven innings.

DAKODY CLEMMER: The Central Arizona JC righty is 4-2, 3.02 in eight games, with 37 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.

COLE DOHERTY: The Portland lefty is 1-2, 10.57 in four games, with 12 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.

CHASE KAPLAN: The lefty from Western Nevada JC is 3-2, 3.71 in nine games, with 36 strikeouts in 43.2 innings.

ANGEL LANDAZURI: The righty from UC Riverside is 1-4, 3.55 in seven games, with 45 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.

SLATER LEE: The righty from Cal Poly is 0-0, 5.40 in five games, with three strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

MICHAEL MARTIN: The UC-Irvine righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He is expected to return to action next month.

HARRISON MCGHEE: The Concordia righty has not pitched yet because of injury. He hopes to return by the end of the season.

ALEX NESBITT: The Washington righty is 1-0, 3.60 in six games, with seven strikeouts in 10 innings.

MERRICK PATITO: The Chaffey College righty is 1-2, 6.89 in 11 games, with 30 strikeouts in 31.1 innings.

MATT SMITH: The righty from Chapman is 5-1, 2.23 in seven games, with 52 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.

AUSTIN SODDERS: The Riverside City College lefty is 7-0, 1.17 in eight games, with 39 strikeouts in 61.1 innings.

GARY STEINDORF: The Western Oregon righty is 0-0, 8.10 in nine games, with a save and eight strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

JUSTIN VERNIA: The Tacoma CC righty is 5-0, 0.81 in five games, with 30 strikeouts in 33 innings.

JOSH WALKER: The Grand Canyon righty is 0-1, 13.50 in five games, with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

RYAN WALKER: The Washington State righty is 0-0, 2.95 in 14 games, with 21 strikeouts in 21.1 innings.

JOEY WISE: The lefty from GateWay CC is 1-2, 4.26 in nine games, with 31 strikeouts in 25.1 innings.

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Bellingham will host the 2015 West Coast League All-Star Game on Monday, July 20, at Joe Martin Field. It will be presented by award winning John Howie Restaurants: John Howie Steak, Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar and Sport Restaurant & Bar. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.

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The Kitsap BlueJackets have signed six new players for the upcoming season. Colby Brown, Joe Galindo and Kyle Piersol will join the BlueJackets from the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI). Also set to play for Kitsap are outfielders Tyler Brazelton and Alex Junior from Tennessee Tech and Spencer Dunlap from the University of San Diego.

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That is all for today. Have a great weekend and we will see you on Monday.

Haddeland named Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

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Alum Chris Haddeland (2014), a senior at Linfield, was named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week for March 23-29. It's the third time this year he's earned the award.

Haddeland hurled a three-hit, complete-game shutout to lead the Wildcats to a 7-0 win over Willamette this past Saturday. He had five strikeouts and two walks in nine innings and did not allow a runner past second base.

Alum Chris Bishop (2012-14) of Pacific Lutheran was nominated, but not selected.

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Cal Poly pitcher Casey Bloomquist (2013) and UC Irvine pitcher Elliot Surrey (2013) were nominated for Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for March 23-29, but were not selected.

Bloomquist pitched a complete game with three strikeouts in an 8-1 win over Oregon State on March 27. Surrey pitched a complete game and had seven strikeouts in a 2-0 win over Hawaii that same night.

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Former Knights' pitcher Nick Struck (2009) of Mt. Hood CC has signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League. He was released by the Dodgers in the offseason; he also spent time in the Chicago Cubs' organization.

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Time to update the stats of our 2015 position players. We will have the numbers for the pitchers on Friday.

CAMERON BISHOP: The infielder from UC Irvine is hitting .222 (10-45) in 20 games, with three homers and 13 RBIs.

HAYDEN CALVERT: The Corban outfielder is hitting .239 (21-88) in 27 games, with three homers and 14 RBIs.

ELLIOTT CARY: The Oregon State outfielder is hitting .120 (3-25) in 15 games, with no homers or RBIs.

ANDY COSGROVE: The Washington catcher is 0-for-1 in one game.

CHRISTIAN DONAHUE: The Oregon State second baseman is hitting .305 (18-59) in 23 games, with six RBIs.

MICHAEL FARRIS: The outfielder from UC Riverside is redshirting this year.

CLAY FISHER: The UC Santa Barbara infielder is hitting .211 (15-71) in 21 games, with three RBIs.

JOSHUA GEORGE: The Cal Poly outfielder is hitting .100 (1-10) in 10 games, with no homers or RBIs.

TYLER HAMILTON: The George Fox catcher is hitting .200 (5-30) in 14 games, with three RBIs.

AUSTIN KELLY: The Linn-Benton infielder is hitting .321 (18-56) in 16 games, with a homer and 12 RBIs.

DALTON KELLY: The UC Santa Barbara first baseman is hitting .266 (21-79) in 24 games, with three homers and 16 RBIs.

COLE KREUTER: The UC Irvine infielder is hitting .243 (9-37) in 12 games, with five RBIs.

TYGER LINER: The LBCC catcher is hitting .208 (5-24) in 15 games, with three RBIs.

CLAY MOTT: The George Fox infielder is hitting .183 (19-104) in 26 games, with five RBIs.

TRAVIS SANDERS: The Portland infielder has not played yet.

HENRY RONDEAU: The LBCC outfielder is hitting .212 (11-52) in 15 games, with 10 RBIs.

JACKSON SOTO: The Oregon State infielder is hitting .000 (0-3) in three games.

JES STAPLES: The Bellarmine outfielder is hitting .200 (14-70) in 22 games, with seven RBIs.

TAYLOR TRAVESS: The infielder from Mt. Hood CC is hitting .292 (14-48) in 18 games, with four RBIs.

AJ VALENCIA: The George Fox outfielder is hitting .271 (19-70) in 24 games, with five RBIs.

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Bellingham has Bellevue College freshman catcher Alex Galgano and Washington State junior infielder Patrick McGrath to its 2015 roster. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.

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The Victoria HarbourCats have signed UCLA freshman infielder Scott Jarvis, incoming UCLA freshman outfielder Jake Pries and outfielder Kevin Amezquita of East LA Community College for the 2015 season. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. See you on Friday.