Bells hire Jeff James as their new head coach

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Big news in the West Coast League today. Bellingham has hired former University of Washington player Jeff James as its new head coach for the 2014 season. He succeeds Gary Hatch, who stepped down in September after three years at the helm.

A Seattle native who starred at Newport High School in Bellevue, James then played at California Baptist University, Bellevue Community College, and Washington. He is currently a volunteer assistant coach at Seattle University, and has also been director of baseball operations for Seattle U, and an assistant at Everett Community College, Washington and with the Kelowna Falcons in 2009 and 2010.

Here's more on James from the Seattle University website. More details on James' hiring are available here, from the Bellingham Herald newspaper, and here, from the team's website.

Hatch's assistants, Dane Siegfried and Jim Clem, the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, will return.

Welcome to the WCL, Jeff. He will be the fourth new manager in the WCL in 2014, joining Knights' playing (2006, 2008-09) and coaching (2010-11, 2013) alum Billy Clontz at Kelowna; Marty Hunter at Bend, and whomever is hired by the expansion Yakima franchise.

We also have a few other news items to report, so let's get on with it.

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Productive day on Monday for Knights' alums in the Arizona Fall League.

* Surprise (Brewers) outfielder Mitch Haniger (2010) hit a grand slam, his fourth homer of the fall, in an 8-2 victory over Scottsdale. Scottsdale (Giants) catcher Andrew Susac (2009) was 1-for-3 with a walk. Haniger played at Cal Poly, Susac at Oregon State.

* Salt River (Cardinals) pitcher Sam Gaviglio (2009) allowed five hits and one run in five innings and got the win in an 8-1 victory over Glendale. Gaviglio struck out four and had one walk; he's now 3-0 and has allowed one run in 15 innings in his last three starts. He also played at OSU.

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Summer college wood bat baseball continues to be a growth industry, especially in regions without a substantial minor-league baseball presence, using cities that once had minor-league franchises (Wenatchee, Bend, Medford, Bellingham, Yakima, Victoria, Klamath Falls and Walla Walla are examples of this in the WCL).

The latest league to be formed is the Great Plains League, in Kansas. It will have two teams in Topeka, a city of 125,000 that no longer has affiliated or independent baseball, and two more (for now) elsewhere. Click here for more details, from the Ballpark Digest website.

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Remember, our first "Clearing the Bases" sale is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis. We'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays.

We'll also have a very special deal on a very popular Knights' item, so stay tuned to this space for more details as the big day approaches. Save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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That's it for today. See you on Wednesday.

Kevin Burke now working at High Point University

Happy Veterans Day, everyone. Big thanks to all the men and women who have served our country.

Pretty quiet weekend down here in Corvallis, with the Beavers having a bye in football this past Saturday. So, the Blog caught up on some yard work and (hopefully) should just about be finished with raking for the fall.

It's still pretty slow on the news front. Rumor is the West Coast League is very close to finalizing the 2014 schedule, so hopefully we'll have an update on that topic by the end of the week.

In the meantime, we do have a few news items to report. So, on with today's blog!

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Broadcaster Kevin Burke, the voice of the 2012 Knights, is working as the play-by-play broadcaster for High Point University women's basketball this winter. HPU is a Division I school in High Point, N.C.; here's a link to information on the women's basketball program.

Kevin worked as the No. 2 broadcaster for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos last summer. They are the double-A Southern League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. No word yet on where he'll be next summer.

Ex-Knights broadcaster Jason Schwartz (2010) is taking the winter off after his second season with the Lancaster JetHawks, Houston's affiliate in the Class A California League. He'll be looking to move up in 2014.

And former Wenatchee AppleSox broadcaster and Friend o' the Blog Chris King (200-09, 2011) is now the play-by-play voice of the University of Idaho men's basketball team after spending the past two summers with the Tri-City Dust Devils, Colorado's affiliate in the short-season Class A Northwest League.

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As we said earlier in the Blog, we'll have our schedule shortly. We do know we'll have 27 home league games and five home nonleague games, for a 32-game home schedule.

Current season-ticket holders have until Jan. 1 to renew their same seats. After that, they're up for grabs. We also have 10-game punch cards for sale, for $50. So come down and see us at the WWHQ and we'll take your order.

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Here's another reminder about our first "Clearing the Bases" sale, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis. We'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays.

We'll also have a very special deal on a very popular Knights' item, so stay tuned to this space for more details as the big day approaches. Save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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That's it for today. See you on Tuesday.

Happy Friday, everyone

Happy Friday, everyone.

Hope you're ready for a great weekend. It will be pretty quiet in Corvallis, as there's no football in town, but the weather has improved and that's always a step in the right direction.

We learned yesterday that the owners are close to adopting the 2014 West Coast League master schedule. So hopefully we'll be able to release our 2014 slate pretty soon and you can start making plans for next summer.

Not a lot of news to report today, but we do have some so let's get on with the show!

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You may have already read about if on our website or on Facebook, but we're sorry to announce that longtime intern/ticket manager/host family coordinator/do anything at any time for the Knights superstar Jaimie Van Vleet is leaving the team.

She's taken a position with Aloha Productions, a Philomath-based company involved in the competitive cheerleading industry. We miss her already! Here's more on Jaimie's departure, from our website.

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It's a Friday, and time to update the stats of our alums in the Arizona Fall League and in the Australian Baseball League.

First, our AFL alums:

MITCH HANIGER (2010): The outfielder from Cal Poly is hitting .313 (25-80) in 20 games for the Surprise Saguaros (Brewers), with three homers and 19 RBIs.

ANDREW SUSAC (2009): The catcher/first baseman from Oregon State is hitting .361 (13-36) in 13 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions (Giants), with two homers and seven RBIs.

SAM GAVIGLIO (2009): The right-handed pitcher from Oregon State is 2-0, 3.97 in five games with the Salt River Rafters (Cardinals), with 17 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. He's pitched 10 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two starts.

Now, our ABL alums:

ERIC MASSINGHAM (2006-07): The right-handed pitcher for the Canberra Cavalry is 1-0, 7.71 in two games, with no strikeouts in 2.1 innings. He played at Cal Poly.

LIAM BARON (2008-09): The left-handed pitcher for the Perth Heat is 0-1 in one appearance. He has no strikeouts and does not yet have an ERA because he has not recorded an out. Liam played at Linn-Benton and at Gonzaga.

DEAN GREEN (2008): The first baseman for the Sydney Blue Sox is on the 7-day disabled list and hasn't played yet. He played at Oklahoma State and at Barry University.

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You're going to be reading about our first "Clearing the Bases" sale pretty frequently in the Blog over the next month or so. Scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis, we'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays.

We'll also have a very special deal on a very popular Knights' item, so stay tuned to this space for more details as the big day approaches. Save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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News from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

KITSAP: The BlueJackets have signed have signed utility player Nick Choruby from Texas A&M. He's a 6-foot, 160-pound freshman from Portland who played at Jesuit High School.

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That's it for today. See you on Friday.

Big night for Andrew Susac

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Pretty nasty, windy, rainy day in Corvallis. But until we head over to the Post Office to pick up today's mail we're safe and snug at the WWHQ, inside the Madison Plaza building in the heart of downtown. So there's nothing to stop us from bringing you today's Knights blog.

On with the show!

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Alum Andrew Susac (2009), a San Francisco Giants prospect who catches for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, hit a two-run homer and an RBI single on Wednesday night in a 7-4 win over the Salt River Rafters at Scottsdale Stadium. Here are more details on the game, with extensive quotes from Susac.

Overall he was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two walks, and raised his average to .361. He almost added another RBI single in his final at-bat, but was retired on a nice play by the shortstop.

Susac played for us the summer after his senior season at Jesuit High School in Roseville, Calif., before he entered Oregon State. He was named the West Coast League's No. 1 pro prospect by Baseball America and Perfect Game Crosschecker, and earned honorable-mention all-WCL honors. He played at Richmond in the double-A Eastern League in 2013 and was selected to play in the EL All-Star Game (as was 2007 alum Jim Murphy of the Reading Fightin' Phils).

Incidentally, pitcher David Andriese of UC Riverside was named the WCL's No. 2 pro prospect by both organizations in 2009. Now in the San Diego organization, Andriese is 26-18 lifetime, was a Texas League All-Star Game selection in 2013, and then was promoted to triple-A Tucson in just his third season in pro baseball.

So, we could have two more big-league Knights before too much longer.

Other Knights still in the pros from Perfect Game's 2009 top prospect list are No. 3 Taylor Ard (Mariners); No. 5 Sam Gaviglio (Cardinals), and No. 25 James Nygren (Marlins).

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You're going to be reading about our first "Clearing the Bases" sale pretty frequently in the Blog over the next month or so. Scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis, we'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays.

We'll also have a very special deal on a very popular Knights' item, so stay tuned to this space for more details as the big day approaches. Save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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No news from elsewhere in the West Coast League, so that's it for today. See you on Friday.

Strong outing for Sam Gaviglio

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

We're already almost halfway through the week! Time flies when you're having fun, which is always the case at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights!

Let's get on with today's news.

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Alum Sam Gaviglio (2009), a St. Louis Cardinals' prospect who is playing for the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League, allowed just two hits over five scoreless innings on Tuesday and got the win in an 8-0 victory over the Mesa Solar Sox. The one-time Pac-12 all-star from Oregon State had two strikeouts.

Sam pitched at Palm Beach in the advanced-A Florida State League in 2013 and went 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA in seven starts. He's steadily progressed up the Cardinals' minor-league ladder since turning pro in 2011 and could reach double-A Springfield in 2014.

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Alum Griffin Boyd (2010, 2011) has been hired as the new assistant general manager of the Medford Rogues. Check out this story on Griffin from our website. Congrats to Griffin and best of luck in your new job, except when you're playing the Knights, of course.

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We're the only team in the WCL with alums in major-league baseball and the National Football League.

Not sure if you caught this but former Oregon State All-American cornerback Jordan Poyer (2010) was claimed by the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 21 after being waived by Philadelphia, and has been on their active roster ever since.

Jordan has one tackle so far. He hit .667 (4-6) in nine total games in 2010, with a homer and six RBIs, before quitting baseball to concentrate on football.

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Don't forget our first "Clearing the Bases" sale, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis. We'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays.

We'll also have a very special deal on a very popular Knights' item, so stay tuned to this space for more details as the big day approaches. Save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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No news from elsewhere in the West Coast League, so that's it for today. See you on Thursday.

Big day for Mitch Haniger

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Dreary day in downtown Corvallis, so let's get on with today's news.

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Alum Mitch Haniger (2010), a Milwaukee Brewers farmhand who is playing with the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League, was 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and a three RBIs on Monday in a 9-6 win over Glendale.

The former 2012 West Coast Conference Player of the Year at Cal Poly, Mitch played in Class A in 2013, should progress to double-A next summer, and is hitting .319 (22-69) in 18 games in the AFL, with three homers and 19 RBIs.

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Our 10-game punch cards for the upcoming season have arrived and are on sale at the WWHQ in the Madison Plaza building in downtown Corvallis. They are $50 apiece and will save you $1 per ticket on a general admission seat (the cost of a single GA ticket is going to $6 this season, after seven years at $5).

They are good for all games, including Fireworks Nights, Dashes for Cash, ZOOperstars! and other special attractions. So, stop in and buy some, they make great birthday and holiday presents.

And remember, it's time for 2013 season-ticket holders to renew their seats for 2014. Those not renewed by Jan 1 become available to the general public.

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Don't forget our first "Clearing the Bases" sale, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14, in the front lobby of the aforementioned Madison Plaza. We'll have merchandise, caps, memorabilia, some team artifacts and other items for sale at excellent prices, just in time for the holidays. Knights' team apparel makes an excellent stocking stuffer, or a full-blown holiday gift.

Additional details will be forthcoming as the big day approaches. So save the date (Dec. 14) and come on down to the heart of downtown Corvallis to check it out.

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No news from elsewhere in the West Coast League, so that's it for today. See you on Wednesday.

Dittrick playing for Morley Eagles

Happy Monday, everyone.

Back in the office after a tough weekend for the Beavers, which seems to depress everyone in Corvallis. Oh well, on to the next game.

We've got a few items of note to pass along today, so let's get started.

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Alum Rob Dittrick, our 2012 Knights Outstanding Pitcher from Pacific University, is now playing for the Morley Eagles in Australia. They're a level below the Perth Heat and the other teams in the Australian Baseball League.

Alums Billy Clontz (2006, 2008-09) and Dylan Jones (2009, 2010) also played for the Eagles at one time or another. Best of luck to Rob, an ace on our 2012 divisional championship staff and the West Coast League's ERA leader (0.95) that summer.

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Alum Andrew Susac (2009) of the Scottsdale Scorpions did not play for the East team this past Saturday at the Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game. The West won 9-2, thanks in large part to two homers and three RBIs from former Oregon State infielder Stefen Romero.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

KITSAP: The BlueJackets have signed Oregon infielder Daniel Patzlaff, Gonzaga catcher Joey Harris and Gonzaga infielder Jeffrey Bohling.

Patzlaff is a 5-foot-10, 150-pound incoming freshman from Fountain Valley High in Fountain Valley, Calif. Harris is a 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore from Claremont, Calif., and Bohling is a sophomore from Sammamish, Wash., who played at Eastside Catholic in Bellevue.

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That's it for today. See you on Tuesday.

Medford hires alum Griffin Boyd as assistant GM

Happy Friday, everyone.

Busy, busy day at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights on Thursday. We were (happily) inundated with trick or treaters celebrating Halloween in downtown CorVegas. Hope everyone enjoyed their coupon for the free French fries at area McDonald's, one of our outstanding sponsors.

Big day today also, as excitement builds for tonight's Dad's Weekend football game against USC over at Oregon State. The town should be hopping and we're predicting an electric atmosphere (and an OSU victory) at Reser Stadium.

We've got a few items of note to pass along today, so let's get started.

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Former Knights' infielder Griffin Boyd (2010, 2011) has been named the new assistant general manager of the Medford Rogues. A Western Oregon graduate, Griffin earned a full-time position with us in 2010 after signing as a 10-day player, and then started the 2011 season as a full-timer before sustaining a season-ending injury in our home opener.

Best of luck to Griffin in his new position. He's a Medford native and should do a great job in his hometown. Here's more on the story, from the Our Sports Central website. And here's even more, from the Medford Mail-Tribune newspaper.

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Remember, alum Andrew Susac of the Scottsdale Scorpions will play for the East team on Saturday at the Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game. It is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, and will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

KITSAP: The BlueJackets have signed right-handed pitcher Jordan Talbott, a redshirt freshman at Cal. He's a native of Aptos, Calif., and played for the St. Cloud Rox in the Northwoods League last summer.

WENATCHEE: The AppleSox have signed a new flagship radio station, 93.9 Sunny FM, for the 2014 season. All 58 regular-season games, plus playoffs, will be broadcast on Wenatchee's radio home for "The Greatest Hits of all Time."

Said co-owner Jim Corcoran: "This gives us a great opportunity to reach out to our fans with the much-improved sound quality that comes with having our games broadcast on the FM band."

Fans can also listen on Wenatchee's Community Channel, KWCC-TV, seen on LocalTel and Charter cable systems throughout the area. Fans watching one of these TV channels will hear the AppleSox/Sunny FM broadcast feed while viewing a live animated game summary in real-time, showing an electronic version of a traditional baseball score book that instantly broadcasts scores, rosters, stats and more.

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That's all for today. Have a great weekend, go Beavs, and we'll see you on Monday!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone.

We expect a lot of visitors to the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights this afternoon. There's no school in Corvallis until Monday and downtown has become a very popular area for families to take their children trick or treating.

So, we're prepared for lots of pirates, cowboys, ninjas, etc., throughout the day. Stop on in!

We've got a few items of note to pass along today, so let's get started.

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Normally we update the stats of our four alums are playing in the Arizona Fall League, MLB's premier off-season development circuit, on Friday. But with the big USC-Oregon State football game set for 6 p.m. tomorrow we've got other stuff going on so we'll do it today, with stats through Wednesday's action.

MITCH HANIGER: The outfielder from Cal Poly is hitting .295 (18-61) in 16 games for the Surprise Saguaros (Brewers), with two homers, 14 RBIs and a team-best five doubles.

ANDREW SUSAC (2009): The catcher/first baseman from Oregon State is hitting .379 (11-28) in 10 games with the Scottsdale Scorpions (Giants), with a homer and four RBIs.

SAM GAVIGLIO (2009): The right-handed pitcher from Oregon State is 1-0, 5.09 in four games with the Salt River Rafters (Cardinals), with 15 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Sam struck out six in five innings of scoreless, two-hit ball against Surprise on Wednesday and left with a 6-0 lead in an eventual 12-6 loss.

TYLER ANDERSON (2009): The left-handed pitcher from Oregon has not yet appeared in a game with the Salt River Rafters (Rockies).

Remember, Susac will play for the East team on Saturday at the Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game. It is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, and will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

KITSAP: The BlueJackets have signed RHP Max Winklehake of the University of Redlands, and RHP Rustin Sveum of Dixie State University. Sveum is the son of former MLB player/manager Dale Sveum.

MEDFORD: The Rogues have signed three University of Oregon freshmen-to-be for the 2014 season. Here's more on the story from the Our Sports Central website.

VICTORIA: By all accounts, the HarbourCats' first year went well. Here's a complete review, from the HarbourCats Baseball Blog.

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That's all for today. See you on Friday!

Ex-Kelowna coach hired at LSU-Shreveport

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Another clear, crisp day in beautiful downtown Corvallis, as our fall to remember continues. The sun is streaming in over the roof of the Whiteside Theatre, positively illuminating 4th Street. And it still looks good for Friday, when the Beavers host USC in a big, big football game at Reser Stadium.

Superstar 2013 intern Tyler Acevedo stopped in earlier today to chat. He did a great job for us this past summer, is finishing up his degree work and expects to graduate from Oregon State this June.

We've got a few items of note to pass along today, so let's get started.

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Remember, alum Andrew Susac (2009), a catcher in the San Francisco organization who spent the past season with the Richmond Flying Squirrels in the double-A Eastern League, will play for the East team on Saturday at the Arizona Fall League's Fall Stars Game.

It will be played at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, starting at 5 p.m. PDT, and will be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com.

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Former Kelowna coach Al Cantwell (2011-12) has been promoted to the head coach at LSU-Shreveport. Here's more on that story from the Kelowna website.

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The West Coast League's recent re-alignment means different things to different franchises. Here's Victoria's take on the change, from an article in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper.

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No more news from elsewhere in the West Coast League, that's it for today. Have a great day and we'll see you on Thursday.