Knights sign Bellarmine star Jes Staples

Happy Friday, everyone. It is the end of the week and the official end of summer is upon us but Knights-related news knows no season. So let's get right to it.

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The Knights have continued our Bellarmine University connection, first established in 2014 with the addition of outfielder Phil Leopold, a 10-day signee who ended up making the team and becoming a major contributor.

The latest Bellarmine Knight to join the Corvallis Knights is junior outfielder Jes Staples. He hit .330 in 2014 and led Bellarmine with 63 hits, five triples, 16 steals and 33 runs. He also had 19 multi-hit games and won a gold glove for his outfield defensive work.

As a pitcher, he was 1-2 with a 0.93 ERA in seven games, with 12 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Last summer, Staples played for the Lexington Hustlers in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. He hit .310, with 36 hits, 10 steals, 10 RBIs, and 20 runs scored in 27 games. He made the all-star team and went 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI, a run scored and steal in the all-star game. He had 12 multi-hit games overall and five three-hit games.

He is a 5-foot-11, 160-pound lefty from Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kent. Welcome to the team, Jes.

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Former Corvallis Knights broadcasters Jason Schwartz (2010) and Kevin Burke (2012) had another successful season behind the mic at their 2014 jobs in Lancaster Calif., and Traverse City, Mich., respectively. Please click here and check out this story on our website to read all about it.

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The sale of the Bend Elks to Let's Play Ball LLC is about to be finalized. Here is more on that story from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for this week. Have a great weekend, go Beavs, and we will see you on Monday.

Knights sign LHP Brady Williams of CMU

Happy Thursday, everyone. We have more Knights- and West Coast league-related news to report, so let's get right to it.

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The cornerstone of every Corvallis team is a strong pitching staff and 2015 should be no different for the Knights.

We have signed junior lefty Brady Williams of Central Michigan University for next summer. The 6-foot-4 graduate of Ridgefield High School in Ridgefield, Wash., pitched at Linn-Benton in 2013 and then moved north to Chemeketa CC in 2014 after LBCC dropped its (since re-instated) program.

Williams was 5-2, 2.42 in 11 games at Chemeketa in 2014, with 37 strikeouts in 48.1 innings. He was 1-0, 3.21 in nine games at LBCC in 2013, with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings.

He is the third pitcher to sign with the Knights, joining Cal Poly sophomore Slater Lee and RHP Merrick Patito of Chaffey College, a returnee from 2014.

Welcome to the team, Brady.

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Alum Matt Duffy (2010) of the San Francisco Giants drove in the winning runs in the top of the ninth as the Giants edged Arizona 4-2 on Wednesday night to move to within two games of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West.

Duffy improved to 4-for-10 as a pinch-hitter. Here is video of his big hit. He has done a great job for the Giants since being recalled from double-A Richmond this summer, where he was the Eastern League's all-star shortstop.

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We missed this story over the summer. Here is a nice profile on an original Corvallis Knight, left-handed pitcher Daniel Bibona (2007) of UC Irvine, from the Big West Conference website. He is now the UCI pitching coach.

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We also missed out on some West Coast Conference accolades for some former Knights. Portland pitcher Jackson Lockwood (2014), infielder Cody Lenahan (2013) and infielder Caleb Whalen (2012) all earned WCC all-academic honors. Lockwood (3.46 cumulative GPA in business) earned first-team honors; Lenahan and Whalen earned honorable mention. Here is more on that story, from the WCC website.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Friday.

Cal Poly's Slater Lee signs with Knights

Happy Wednesday, everyone. We have more Knights- and West Coast League-related news to report, so let's get right to it.

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The Knights have signed Cal Poly pitcher Slater Lee for the 2014 season. He is a sophomore from Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, Calif.

A 6-foot, 200-pound right-hander, Lee was ticketed to join us for the 2014 after his freshman year, but instead he was shut down for the summer because of minor knee issue. He was 3-2, 6.20 in 14 games for the Mustangs in 2014, with 11 starts and 34 strikeouts in 49.1 innings.

Lee was 11-2, 1.34 in 2013 as a Carlsbad senior, with 90 strikeouts in 78.1 innings, seven complete games and five shutouts. He was the Avocado West League Pitcher of the Year, a first-team Avocado League all-star, and a first-team All-CIF-San Diego Section all-star.

He is the second Cal Poly player to sign with the Knights for the 2015 season. Freshman outfielder Josh George signed last week. We have also signed RHP Merrick Patito of Chaffey College, a returnee from 2014.

Welcome to the team, Slater.

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The Klamath Falls Gems have hired Justin Barchus as their new heads coach. A native Oregonian, Barchus has been the head coach for Capital City Select, one of the premier college prep travel teams in the country, for the past seven seasons.

He succeeds Mitch Karraker. Here is more on the story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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Victoria has signed five more players for the 2015 season, giving them 10 so far overall. Here is more on the story, again from the Our Sports Central website.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Thursday.

Merrick Patito to return in 2015

Happy Tuesday, everyone. Let's get right to the news.

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The Knights have signed right-handed pitcher Merrick Patito of Chaffey (Calif.) College for the 2015 season. He is a returnee from the 2014 team.

A 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore from Riverside, Calif., Patito was 2-2, 5.70 in 19 relief appearances, with two saves and 30 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.

Merrick was 6-3, 3.80 in 11 starts and 12 appearances as a freshman at Chaffey in 2014, with 71 strikeouts in 72 innings. He is the younger brother of former Corvallis pitcher Mitch Patito (2010-12). Welcome back!

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A couple items from the From the "What could have been" department:

* Third baseman Kevin Padlo, a University of San Diego signee who was ticketed to play for the Knights this past summer, was named a Rookie League all-star by Baseball America after a standout season with Grand Junction in the Pioneer League.

Padlo hit .300 in 48 games at Grand Junction, a Colorado affiliate, with eight homers and 44 RBIs. He signed with the Rockies after being drafted in the fifth round.

* Pitcher Tyler Mahle, a prospective 2013 Knight, was also named a Rookie League all-star by Baseball America after he went 5-4, 3.87 at Billings, a Cincinnati affiliate in the Pioneer League. He is the younger brother of former Knights' MVP Greg Mahle (2012).

The all-Rookie League team was selected from the Appalachian, Arizona, Gulf Coast and Pioneer leagues.

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Former Knights' p[lay-by-play announcer Jason Schwartz (2010) earned another ring last night as the Lancaster JetHawks defeated Visalia 10-2 in Game 5 of the California League championship series. Lancaster, a Houston affiliate in the Class A-advanced circuit, also won in 2012 and 2013 and Jason has been their play-by-play announcer each year.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Wednesday.

Baseball America ranks Kelly, Calomeni

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

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Two Knights made Baseball America's list of the Top 10 West Coast League prospects for the 2014 season. UC Santa Barbara first baseman/outfielder Dalton Kelly was ranked No. 5 and Cal Poly pitcher Justin Calomeni was ranked No. 7.

Here's their evaluation:

5. Dalton Kelly, of/1b, Corvallis (Jr., UC Santa Barbara):

"Kelly has not been a regular in two years at school, getting 63 plate appearances, but he got the necessary reps to become one of the top performers in the league this summer, while also showing tools.

"The left-handed-hitting Kelly produced a .336/.446/.604 line to finish sixth in on-base percentage and second in isolated slugging (.268) after hitting seven home runs. He has average raw power that projects to be above-average once he adds strength to his lean 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame. Coaches praised his hitting aptitude although he does it unconventionally in the batter's box and tends to drift.

"The athletic Kelly is at least a plus runner with a chance in center field who reportedly ran a 6.5 in the 60-yard dash. He saw time in all three outfield spots with an arm that is at least average. Kelly is extremely young for the draft class and won't be 21 until two months after the draft."

7. Justin Calomeni, rhp, Corvallis (So., Cal Poly)

"Calomeni stepped into the rotation as a freshman and was a mainstay for a top-10 team. Despite pitching in the same rotation as Phillies second-rounder Matt Imhof, Calomeni tied for the best strikeout-walk ratio on the team (3.7 with Casey Bloomquist), besting Imhof's 2.9.

"He is a strike-thrower with a three-pitch mix. Calomeni's fastball sits 88-92, touching 93 with arm-side run and sink from a long, loose arm action that inverts significantly. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Calomeni has a projectable build, and evaluators think he has a chance to throw harder.

"Calomeni lacks a consistently average secondary offering at present, as both his changeup and slider are below-average to fringe-average offerings. But his slider flashes late tilt and depth at its best. He projects to have at least average control and walked 2.2 per nine this spring and 2.4 this summer, which was the fifth-lowest walk rate in the league.

"The 18-year-old is very young for his draft class and won't be 21 until four months after the draft, making him more of a rising freshman by age."

Congrats to both players. Perfect Game should have its top prospects list sometime this week.

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Big day for our Knights alums with the San Francisco Giants on Sunday in their 4-2 loss to the Dodgers. Catcher Andrew Susac (2009) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run and shortstop Matt Duffy (2010) was 1-for-1 with an RBI.

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The minor league season is over, so no more Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Pitcher James Nygren (2009) and outfielder Alex Burg (2008) were members of the Southern League champion Jacksonville Suns. Pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) was a member of the Eastern League-champion Binghamton Mets.

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Here is a list of honors for the Falcons in the first season at Kelowna under former Knights' assistant coach and player Billy Clontz, from the team website.

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That is all for today. Have a great day and we will see you on Tuesday.

Lucarelli named 2014 MVP

Happy Friday, everyone.

The Knights announced our 2014 team awards on Thursday.

* Shortstop Michael Lucarelli of Portland was the Most Valuable Player.

* Starting pitcher Chris Haddeland of Linfield and closer Brandon Choate of the University of Washington shared Top Pitcher honors.

* First baseman/outfielder Dalton Kelly of UC Santa Barbara earned Top Prospect recognition.

* UCSB teammate outfielder Scott Quinlan earned the Joe Segel Hustle Award.

Here is more on that story, from our website. Congrats to all our award winners!

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Alum Cody Lenahan (2013) of Portland was named one of the top pro prospects in the California Collegiate League by Perfect Game. Unfortunately the story is behind a pay wall so we can't link it, but congrats to Cody, who will be a senior at UP this season.

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Durham (AAA International, Rays) pitcher Matt Andriese (2009) allowed two runs on five hits, had eight strikeouts in six innings and got the win as the Bulls defeated Pawtucket 4-3 in the International League playoffs on Thursday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention went to:

* Jacksonville (AA Southern, Marlins) pitcher James Nygren threw two scoreless innings and had two strikeouts in a 12-3 win over Chattanooga in the Southern League playoffs.

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Here is a story from reporter Grant Lucas of the Bend Bulletin about the 2014 Bend Elks season (which we ended with Kevin Kline's dramatic walkoff homer, if you recall!).

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

Knights sign Cal Poly OF Josh George

Happy Thursday, everyone.

The Knights have signed their first player for 2015, president Dan Segel announced Wednesday. The No. 1 Knight is outfielder Joshua George of Cal Poly, a 6-foot, 175-pound freshman from Hollister, Calif., who missed most of his senior season at San Benito High School.

As a junior, he hit .402 with 10 doubles, two triples, two homers and 24 RBIs and earned first-team All-Monterey Bay Gabilan Division honors, and was the team MVP, captain and top scholar-athlete.

He hit .370 as a sophomore and was a first-team All-Tri-County Athletic League all-star.

We have had lots of great players from Cal Poly and we are hopeful Josh can continue that legacy.

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Yakima Valley's Vince Fernandez, the WCL's 2014 MVP, continues to garner national honors. Here is more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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Former Knights' intern Kaitlynn Phillips, one of the stars of our 2012 class, has been hired by the Hilton Garden Inn of Corvallis as a sales coordinator. She graduated from OSU this past June. Congrats to Kaitlynn!

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Binghamton (AA Eastern, Mets) pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) allowed one run on five hits and had nine strikeouts in seven innings and got the win as the Mets defeated Richmond 5-1 in the Eastern League playoffs on Wednesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

There were no honorable mentions.

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Have a great day and we will see you on Friday.

Scott Schultz wins title with Hillsboro

Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Baseball America and Perfect Game are compiling their top summer baseball prospect lists and should get around to the West Coast league shortly. When they do, we will let you know which Knights fared well in their ratings.

Yakima Valley's Vince Fernandez has already been named the WCL's top prospect by Perfect Game. However, Baseball America selected Medford pitcher David Peterson.

In the meantime, on with today's news.

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Alum Scott Schultz (2011) was a member of the Hillsboro Hops, who captured the Northwest League championship this past Sunday by defeating Vancouver. They are an Arizona affiliate. Scott was 5-5, 4.57 in 14 games, with 37 strikeouts in 69 innings, in his first professional season.

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Tri-City (A New York-Penn, Astros) catcher Jake Rodriguez (2010) went 1-for-2 with a run in an 11-2 loss to State College in the NY-P playoffs on Tuesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

There were no honorable mentions.

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The Klamath Falls Gems have signed a five-year lease agreement to use Kiger Stadium. Here is the more on that story, from the Our Sports Central website.

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Have a great day and we will see you on Thursday.

Good night for Brent Morel

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Baseball America and Perfect Game are compiling their top summer baseball prospect lists and should get around to evaluating the West Coast league shortly. When they do, we will let you know which Knights fared well in their ratings.

In the meantime, on with today's news.

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Nice night for alum Brent Morel (2006-07) of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The third baseman from Cal Poly doubled, singled and drove in a run in a 6-4 win over the Brewers. BeMo has been getting a lot of time in the lineup this month and hopefully his recent strong hitting (3-for-9 in his last two starts) can continue.

He bounced back and forth between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh all season and is hitting .171 (6-35) in 18 games with the Pirates, with two doubles and four RBIs. Another couple games with two knocks and he will be on his way.

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Chattanooga (AA Southern, Dodgers) pitcher Nick Struck (2009) allowed no earned runs and had four strikeouts in four innings and got a no-decision in a 7-6 playoff win over Huntsville to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention went to:

* Mobile (AA Southern, Diamondbacks) reliever Jimmie Sherfy pitched a scoreless inning in a 9-1 playoff loss to Jacksonville.

The minor-league playoffs are almost over but as long as we have alums still playing, we will keep giving out this high honor.

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Here is the latest installment of "Post from the Coast," a regular column on the WCL written by reporter Bruce Baskin of Our Sports Central. It covers a wide variety of WCL topics.

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Have a great day and we will see you on Wednesday.

Another save for Trevor Frank

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

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Lake County (A Midwest, Indians) reliever Trevor Frank had two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth to save a 5-4 win over Ft. Wayne on Sunday in the Midwest League playoffs to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

There were no honorable mentions.

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The Toronto Blue Jays have designed infielder Matt "Slider Guy" Hague (2005) for assignment. They signed him on waivers in August after he was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh and he spent the last part of the season at Buffalo in the triple-A International League.

Players who are designed for assignment are immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must either:

* Return the player to the 40-man roster within 10 days from the date of designation.

Place the player on waivers, which can only be done within the first seven days of the 10-day period).

* Trade the player.

* Release the player.

* Outright the player from the 40-man roster into the minor leagues.

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Here are the final regular-season stats of our minor-league pitching alums, in Part 2 of our weekly "Knights in the Pros" feature. Hitting stats appeared in last Friday's Blog.

TYLER ANDERSON (AA Tulsa, Rockies): The pitcher from Oregon (2009) was 7-4, 1.98 in 23 games, with 106 strikeouts in 118.1 innings.

MATT ANDRIESE (AAA Durham, Rays): The pitcher from UC Riverside (2009) was 11-8, 3.77 in 28 games, with 129 strikeouts in 162.1 innings.

MAX BEATTY (A Eugene, Padres) : The pitcher from Pacific Lutheran (2010-12) was 1-1, 4.50 in 18 games, with 25 strikeouts in 28 innings.

MATT BOYD (Blue Jays): The pitcher from Oregon State (2010) was a combined 6-7, 3.58 in 26 games with Class-A Dunedin and double-A New Hampshire, with 147 strikeouts in 133.1 innings.

A.J. BURKE (A Vermont, A's): The pitcher from Western Oregon (2012) was 6-4, 3.89 in 15 games, with 75 strikeouts in 71.2 innings.

TREVOR FRANK (A Lake County, Indians): The pitcher from UC Riverside (2012) was 5-4, 2.63 in 50 games, with 18 saves and 62 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.

JACE FRY (A Great Falls, White Sox): The pitcher from Oregon State (2011) was 1-0, 2.79 in seven games, with 10 strikeouts in 9.2 innings.

SAM GAVIGLIO (AA Springfield, Cardinals): The pitcher from Oregon State (2009) was 5-12, 4.21 in 25 games, with 126 strikeouts in 136.2 innings.

JUSTIN HEPNER (Gulf Coast League Marlins, Marlins): The pitcher from San Diego State (2011) was 0-0, 16.88 in two games, with no strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

CHASE JOHNSON (A Augusta, Giants): The pitcher from Cal Poly (2011) was 4-7, 4.57 in 23 games, with 94 strikeouts in 110.1 innings.

CHRIS JOHNSON (A Augusta, Giants): The pitcher from Portland (2011) was 0-1, 9.00 in one game, with no strikeouts in two innings.

KYLE KRAUS (Red Sox): The pitcher from Portland (2009-10) was 7-4, 4.76 in 28 games with double-A Portland and single-A Salem, with three saves and 59 strikeouts in 85 innings.

SCOTT LYMAN (Marlins): The pitcher from UC Davis (2010) was 5-12, 3.79 in 25 games with double-A Jacksonville and single-A Jupiter, with 99 strikeouts in 140 innings.

GREG MAHLE (Angels): The pitcher from UC Santa Barbara (2012) was 1-2, 2.65 in 23 games with single-A Burlington and Rookie League Orem, with two saves and 49 strikeouts in 37.1 innings.

JAMES NYGREN (Marlins): The pitcher from Oregon State (2009) was 4-2, 3.60 in 36 games with triple-A New Orleans and double-A Jacksonville, with two saves and 42 strikeouts in 70 innings.

JOSH OSICH (AA Richmond, Giants): The pitcher from Oregon State (2008) was 1-0, 3.78 in 28 games, with 27 strikeouts in 33.1 innings.

GREG PEAVEY (Mets): The pitcher from Oregon State (2007) was 12-8, 4.65 in 24 games with triple-A Las Vegas and double-A Binghamton, with 123 strikeouts in 143.2 innings.

SCOTT SCHULTZ (A Hillsboro, Diamondbacks): The pitcher from Oregon State (2011) was 5-5, 4.57 in 14 games, with 37 strikeouts in 69 innings.

JIMMIE SHERFY (Diamondbacks): The pitcher from Oregon (2011) was 5-1, 4.59 in 48 games with double-A Mobile and single-A Visalia, with seven saves and 68 strikeouts in 49 innings.

NICK STRUCK (Dodgers): The pitcher from Mt. Hood CC (2009) was 5-7, 5.48 in 23 games with triple-A Albuquerque and double-A Chattanooga, with 60 strikeouts in 108.1 innings.

BEN WETZLER (A Batavia, Marlins): The pitcher from Oregon State (2011) was 0-2, 2.95 in 11 games, with 31 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.

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Have a great day and we will see you on Tuesday.