Knights alums Torres, Beatty honored

Today's a stark reminder that it's still March and we're still in Oregon, just in case you'd forgotten during the past two days of sunshine.

But we're not going to let the rain and chilly weather dampen our spirits. We're down to 91 more days until our June 4 opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day II at Goss Stadium, and the simple fact that the season is getting closer and closer is reason enough to be happy on an otherwise dreary day in beautiful downtown CorVegas.

And don't forget, our gray road jerseys are being replaced this season, so they're for sale at the WWHQ for just $40. Another one (# 38) flew out the door on Monday, so you'd better act fast if you want your favorite number. We sold off our old cardinal jerseys last summer and they went like hotcakes, so much so that just a few of the original 39 remain.

So, enough about that. Now, on with the news.

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Knights alum Nick Torres (2012) of Cal Poly was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week on Tuesday. The sophomore outfielder from Lakewood, Calif., hit .417 (5-12) as the Mustangs won a weekend series at Washington 2-1, and all five hits went for extra bases.

Torres had three homers, two doubles, seven RBIs, three runs, and a 1.333 slugging percentage in the series. Full details can be found here, on the Big West Conference website.

Pacific Lutheran junior pitcher Max Beatty (2010-12) was named to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week for pitching eight innings of a 1-0 win over Willamette on March 2 to open the Northwest Conference season. Beatty scattered three hits, struck out five, and did not walk a batter.

Max should be in the running for Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week honors, which are announced Wednesday.

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Several 2013 Knights were in action on Monday for their respective college teams.

* UC Santa Barbara freshman outfielder Joseph DeRoche-Duffin was 0-for-1 in a 10-1 rout of St. Mary's.

* Dixie State first baseman Kevin Kline was a combined 2-for-6 with an RBI in a 16-3, 3-2 doubleheader loss to Pt. Loma Nazarene in DSU's opening Pacific West Conference series.

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Here's our weekly update of the 2013 college stats for our NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and junior-college players. We'll do this every Tuesday throughout the college season; stats for our NCAA Division I players are updated on Mondays.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Junior infielder Eddie Malone Jr. is hitting .313 (5-16) in six games, with three RBIs. Junior infielder Scott Stone is hitting .200 (2-10) in five games, with one RBI.

DIXIE STATE: Sophomore infielder Kevin Kline is hitting .381 (8-21) in seven games, with a homer and seven RBIs.

GRAND CANYON: Sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez is 3-1, 1.38 in four games, with 23 strikeouts in 26 innings. Freshman pitcher Andrew Naderer is 2-1, 2.78 in four games, with 25 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.

CORBAN: Sophomore infielder Marc Gallegos is hitting .328 (22-67) in 15 games, with eight RBIs.

GEORGE FOX: Junior pitcher Tom Zarosinski is 1-2, 5.16 in four games, with 21 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. Sophomore pitcher Sean Eberhardt is 0-0, 6.14 in nine games, with six strikeouts in 7.1 innings.

PACIFIC: Sophomore pitcher Kyle Treadway is 0-2, 3.75 in two games, with three strikeouts in 12 innings.

PACIFIC LUTHERAN: Sophomore pitcher Chris Bishop is 1-1, 3.38 in seven games, with two saves and 20 strikeouts in 16 innings. Sophomore pitcher Jake Otness is 1-1, 12.00 in five games, with eight strikeouts in nine innings.

MT. HOOD CC: Sophomore pitcher Eric Huson is 0-0, 9.64 in one game, with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

TACOMA CC: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Choate, a Washington signee, and sophomore catcher Chad Michaud start their season on Wednesday, when the Tigers host Shoreline CC. Knights' pitching coach Connor Lambert has the same job with TCC during the school year.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

KLAMATH FALLS: The Gems have signed infielder Peter Maris, outfielder Cameron Newell and catcher Dempsey Grover of UC Santa Barbara for the 2013 season. Here's more on the signings from the Our Sports Central website.

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That's all for today. See you on Wednesday, with another edition of the Knights Top 10.

Meet our 2013 interns

Monday already?

Yes it is, another back-to-work Monday at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights after a weekend of great baseball at Goss Stadium. The Beavers swept four games from Bryant University, aided on Sunday by a monsterous homer over the scoreboard by Michael Conforto.

We also reconnected with former Walla Walla broadcaster (2011-12) Tristan Hobbes, a Bryant sports information director who will be working in the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer. Tristan still hasn't seen a team he covers win at Goss; the Sweets were 0-7 in two seasons, and Bryant's 0-4 weekend left him 0-for-11 in Corvallis.

OK, now on to the news.

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Dartmouth freshman outfielder Nick Ruppert, a 2013 Knight from La Mesa, Calif., was named to the all-tournament team at this past weekend's Dairy Queen Classic, hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Metrodome. Ruppert went 5-for-11 (.455) in three games, with two doubles, two runs and an RBI in the Big Green's first three games of the season.

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You may have already read about our 2013 Oregon State College of Business and Merchandise interns elsewhere on our website. Here's a video that will familiarize you even more with some of the men and women who will enhance your experience at every Knights home game this summer.

We'll also have some other interns handling other aspects of the operation; they're presently attending college elsewhere. Some of them you may already know from last year, and others you'll meet in June, at the ballpark.

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The WCL will go to three-man umpiring crews this season, an addition of one umpire from years past. Here are the details, from the league's website.

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Here are updated stats for our 2013 Division I players:

CAL POLY: Freshman catcher/DH Brian Mundell is hitting .250 (6-24) with two RBIs in seven games. Freshman infielder Brian Van Gansen is hitting .296 (8-27) with no homers or RBIs in 10 games. Freshman pitcher Casey Bloomquist has not appeared yet.

OREGON STATE: Freshman pitcher Andrew Moore is 3-0, 0.42 in three starts, with 15 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Freshman infielder Gabe Clark is hitting .200 (3-15) in five games, with three RBIs.

OREGON: Freshmen pitchers Jared Priestley and Sam Johnson have not played yet.

UC IRVINE: Utility Chris Rabago is hitting .310 (13-42) in 12 games, with no homers and seven RBIs. Freshman pitcher Elliot Surrey is 1-0, 4.15 in five games, with seven strikeouts in 8.2 innings.

UC SANTA BARBARA: Freshman outfielder Joseph DeRoche-Duffin is hitting .250 (1-4) in three games, with no homers or RBIs. Freshman pitcher Dylan Hecht is 0-0, 0.00 in four games, with nine strikeouts in eight innings.

PORTLAND: Sophomore infielder Cody Lenahan is hitting .295 (13-44) in 12 games, with no homers and six RBIs. Sophomore infielder Michael Lucarelli is hitting .227 (5-22) in nine games, with no homers one RBI. Junior pitcher Colin Feldtman is 0-0, 5.40 in five innings over two appearances, with three strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Kody Watts is 0-2, 14.40 in three games, with two strikeouts in five innings.

WASHINGTON: Freshman pitcher Alex Nesbitt has not played.

WASHINGTON STATE: Junior pitcher Kellen Camus is 2-0, 1.08 in seven games, with a save and nine strikeouts in 8.1 innings. Freshman pitcher Jacob Schroeder is 0-0, 10.14 in two games, with no strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

COLUMBIA: Sophomore outfielder Gus Craig has not played yet.

DARTMOUTH: Freshman outfielder Nick Ruppert is hitting .455 (5-11) in three games, with an RBI.

SAN JOSE STATE: Junior catcher Dane Lund is hitting .214 (3-14) with no homers and no RBIs in four games.

SAN DIEGO: Sophomore outfielder Grant Melker is hitting .000 (0-2) in six games, with two runs, no homers and no RBIs.

Remember, stats for our Division II, Division III, NAIA and JC players will be updated tomorrow.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BEND: Corner infielder/catcher Grant Newton, a Bend native, and outfielder Landon Cray and pitcher Garrett Anderson of Seattle University have signed to play in Bend for the 2013 season. For more details, click the second item on the menu of the Elks' homepage.

WALLA WALLA: Sunday will be "Kids Day" at Borleske Stadium this summer. Click here for more information from the Sweets' website.

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

Finally, it's a TGIF

The end of the work week is approaching down here at the WWHQ in beautiful downtown Corvallis. The sun is shining, it's warm out and everyone is excited for Oregon State's home opener tonight against Bryant University.

There will be lots of former and future Knights on the mound for the Beavers in the four-game series. Senior lefty Matt Boyd (2010) will start tonight; freshman righty Andrew Moore (2013) will start Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, and junior lefty Ben Wetzler (2011) will start Game 4 on Sunday.

Other former/future Knights in the OSU starting lineup are/could be infielder/catcher Jake Rodriguez (2010); catcher Nate Esposito (2012), infielder Gabe Clark (2013) and first baseman/DH Danny Hayes.

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Pretty light day for baseball on Thursday, as only two 2013 Knights were in action. Here's a roundup:

* Grand Canyon sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez allowed one earned run in six innings on Thursday and got the decision in aa 11-3 win over the Academy of Art in its PacWest Conference opener. Perez had five strikeouts and allowed four hits.

* Washington State junior pitcher Kellen Camus pitched a perfect inning of relief and had one strikeout in a 2-1 victory over Cal State-Northridge.

Virtually all of our 2013 players will be in action this weekend, as the Ivy League schools and junior colleges finally start their seasons too.

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Former Knights star Brent Morel (2006-07) of the White Sox, normally a third baseman, played some shortstop in an exhibition game on Thursday and did well, further enhancing his chances azt making the big league roster. Here's a report from The Chicago Tribune newspaper.

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Nice story here from Fox Sports West on UC Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts, a former Knights coach (2000) who helped start the partnership between the Gauchos and the Knights.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

WALLA WALLA: Every team in the league uses host families; the Sweets need some more for this season, according to this story from the Walla Walla website.

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

Chris Bishop is Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week

Happy Thursday, everyone.

Baseball is in the air in Corvallis. The Beavers open the home portion of their schedule this weekend against Bryant University of Rhode Island and it looks as if the weather will cooperate.

Lots of former/current Knights will be featured on the mound for the 8-0 Beavers. Senior lefty Matt Boyd (2010) will start on Friday night; freshman righty Andrew Moore (2013) will start Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, and junior lefty Ben Wetzler (2011) will start Game 4 on Sunday.

And, as we mentioned earlier this week, friend 'o the blog Tristan Hobbes, the former voice of the Walla Walla Sweets (2011-12) and currently the baseball sports information director for Bryant, will be here too so it will be great to catch up. Bryant doesn't arrive in Corvallis until 2 a.m. Friday, on a Jet Blue flight to PDX via Boston and New York City, so he'll be ready for some Corvallis-style hospitality.

Now, on to the news.

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Pacific Lutheran pitcher Chris Bishop, a sophomore righty who will be a full-time player for us this year after making a cameo appearance in 2012, was named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week on Wednesday.

Bishop struck out 16 batters over eight innings in two separate appearances at last weekend's Cascade Collegiate Conference-Northwest Conference Baseball Challenge. He fanned two in one inning of relief work in a 5-4, 10-inning win over Oregon Tech, and then fanned 14 in seven innings in a 3-0 win against Concordia (Ore.) in his first start of the spring.

He allowed no runs, six hits and two walks in eight total innings. For the season, he's 1-0 with two saves and a 0.00 ERA in six games, with 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.

Congrats to Chris! Here's a link to the official announcement on the Northwest Conference website.

He's the second pitcher with Knights' connections to win his conference's Pitcher of the Week award. Oregon State's Matt Boyd (2010) earned Pac-12 honors.

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Former Knights infielder (2001-02) and assistant coach (2009-10) Travis Hanson has been named to the Kitsap Sun newspaper's all-time Kitsap County team by former Sun sports editor Chuck Stark. Hanson played at the University of Portland and reached triple-A in the St. Louis organization before retiring from baseball. He now lives and works in Eugene for Oakshire Brewing.

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News from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: The Bells have signed infielder Trent Chatterton and pitchers Jacob Ehret and Chase Radan of UCLA for the upcoming season. Here's more on the story from The Bellingham Herald newspaper and from the Bells' website.

MEDFORD: The Rogues announced that Bill Jacobs, the voice of Southern Oregon University, and WCL veteran Johnie Freatman will share radio play-by-play duties this year. Here are more details from the Our Sports central website.

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That's all for today. See you tomorrow on a TGIF.

Halfway through the week at the WWHQ

We're halfway through the work week down here at the WWHQ, in the very heart of downtown Corvallis.

El Presidente is due in later today and the blog is headed over to OSU baseball practice this afternoon if the weather cooperates, so we're grinding out today's blog. It will still have plenty of information, however, about the Knights and about the rest of the West Coast League.

So, here we go.

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Lots of Knights alums and 2013 players involved in Oregon's 3-1 win over Portland on Tuesday. For the Ducks, reliever Jimmie Sherfy (2011) got his third save with a scoreless ninth inning.

For the Pilots, Caleb Whalen (2012) was 2-for-4 with an RBI double; Kramer Scott (2011) was 1-for-3; Cody Lenahan (2013) was 1-for-4 with a run; Michael Lucarelli (2013) was 0-for-2; Beau Fraser (2012) was 0-for-1 and Kody Watts (2013) allowed two runs and two hits and had two strikeouts in three innings and was the losing pitcher.

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Elsewhere on Tuesday in games involving 2013 Knights:

* Sophomore Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 2-for-4 and scored three times for UC Irvine in a 10-3 win over Loyola Marymount. UCI starting pitcher Elliot Surrey (2013) allowed three runs and three hits and had two strikeouts in 2.2 innings but was not involved in the decision.

* Alum Greg Mahle (2012) was 0-for-3 and also gave up four runs in five innings, had three strikeouts, and got the loss for UC Santa Barbara in a 12-3 setback to UCLA. Joseph DeRoche-Duffin (2013) was 0-for-1 for the Gauchos.

* Corban's Marc Gallegos (2012-13) was 0-for-3 with a run in a 7-0 victory over Lewis & Clark College.

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It's Wednesday, and time for Installment 8 of our new feature, the Knights Top 10. Every Wednesday (for as long we we can find something to list), we'll list the Knights Top 10 in a certain category and post it in the Knights Daily Blog.

Today we list the Top 10 leaders in season slugging percentage, for players with at least 75 at-bats (WCL games only):

1. .595, Taylor Ard (2009)

2. .556, Logan Lotti (2008)

3. .500, Dylan Jones (2010)

4. .489, Jim Murphy (2007)

5. .470, Mitch Haniger (2010)

6. .443, Corey Davis (2010)

7. .440, Austin Barr (2012)

8. .422, Richie Jimenez (2009)

9. .413, David Andriese (2010)

10. .407, Adam Melker (2008)

Honorable mention goes to 2011 West Coast League Home Run Derby champion Sean Myrom, who was right at .400.

We'll be back next Wednesday with another Knights Top 10.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BEND: Creighton University freshmen pitchers Taylor Elman and Nick Highberger will join the Elks this summer. For more details on their signing, click here and then click on the second menu item on the Bend website.

KELOWNA: Former Falcon pitcher Jim Henderson (2002) of the Milwaukee Brewers will play for Team Canada at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. For more on the story from the Kelowna website, you know the drill.

MEDFORD: Here's an update on how some 2013 Rogues are doing for the college teams, from the Our Sports Central website.

VICTORIA: And here's an update of HarbourCats in college baseball, from the HarbourCats Baseball Blog.

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

Pac-12, College Sports Madness honor Matt Boyd

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

The sun burned off the morning fog in beautiful downtown Corvallis, letting us know that spring is on the way as March draws nearer. We're down to 98 more days until our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day II at Goss Stadium.

We've got some alumni honors to announce today. Oregon State senior lefty Matt Boyd, a star on our 2010 club, was named the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, and the College Sports Madness Pitcher of the Week for the Pacific-12 Conference, for his performance against San Diego State this past weekend.

Boyd pitched 8.1 shutout innings on Feb. 22 in a 2-0 victory over the Aztecs. He allowed five hits and had nine strikeouts. Here's a link to this week's College Sports Madness team; here's a link to the Pac-12 POW story.

And speaking of Boyd, here's Episode 4 of his "Inside Pitch" video blog; here's Episode 5.

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Here's our weekly update of the 2013 college stats for our NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and junior-college players. We'll do this every Tuesday throughout the college season; stats for our NCAA Division I players are updated on Mondays.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Junior infielder Eddie Malone Jr. is hitting .400 (4-10) in four games, with three RBIs. Junior infielder Scott Stone is hitting .200 (2-10) in five games, with one RBI.

DIXIE STATE: Sophomore infielder Kevin Kline is hitting .333 (5-15) in five games, with a homer and three RBIs.

GRAND CANYON: Sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez is 2-1, 1.35 in three games, with 15 strikeouts in 20 innings. Freshman pitcher Andrew Naderer is 1-1, 3.45 in three games, with 17 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.

CORBAN: Sophomore infielder Marc Gallegos is hitting .362 (17-47) in 10 games, with five RBIs.

GEORGE FOX: Junior pitcher Tom Zarosinski is 1-2, 6.89 in three games, with 14 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. Sophomore pitcher Sean Eberhardt is 0-0, 2.84 in seven games, with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

PACIFIC: Sophomore pitcher Kyle Treadway is 0-2, 3.75 in two games, with three strikeouts in 12 innings.

PACIFIC LUTHERAN: Sophomore pitcher Chris Bishop is 1-0, 0.00 in six games, with two saves and 19 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. Sophomore pitcher Jake Otness is 0-1, 13.50 in four games, with seven strikeouts in eight innings.

MT. HOOD CC: Sophomore pitcher Eric Huson and the Saints start their season on Saturday with a home game against Edmonds CC.

TACOMA CC: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Choate, a Washington signee, and sophomore catcher Chad Michaud start their season on March 6, when the Tigers host Shoreline CC. Knights' pitching coach Connor Lambert has the same job with TCC during the school year.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: The Bells have added Seattle University pitcher Will Dennis and Gonzaga pitcher David Biegelow to their 2013 roster. For more details, read this story from The Bellingham Herald newspaper. For even more info, see the Bells website.

COWLITZ: The Black Bears have signed Oregon State middle infielders Andy Peterson and Paul Martinez; Oakland A's draft pick Devon Gradford of UC Santa Barbara, and infielder Chris Jaeger of Seattle University for 2013. Here are the details from the Cowlitz website.

They have also signed former Kelso High School outfielder Slate Miller of Saddleback CC in Arizona and Lower Columbia College pitchers Easton Napiontek and Nick LaRoy. Here's more on that story, also from the Cowlitz website.

MEDFORD: Here's the latest news from Rogues' GM Chuck Heeman, via Summer Baseball Insider, writing about how the Rogues find their players.

WALLA WALLA: Here's the first installment this spring of "10 Things to Know About Sweets Baseball," a regular feature on their website.

And speaking of the Sweets, former Walla Walla play-by-play broadcaster Tristan Hobbes (2011-12) will be in Corvallis this weekend when Bryant University plays Oregon State in a series at Goss Stadium. Tristan works in the sports information department at Bryant, will accompany the club to Oregon, and we're looking forward to seeing him again.

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That's all for today. See you on Wednesday, when we'll have another installment of the Knights Top 10.

We're back to work at the WWHQ

Once again it's a back-to-work Monday at the WWHQ in the very heart of beautiful downtown Corvallis.

We're down to double digits on the countdown to our season opener. That's right, it's just 99 more days until we face the Portland Lobos on June 4 on Science and Art Day II at Goss Stadium. And it will be March by the end of this work week, so you'd better get your 10-game punch cards, and renew or buy your season tickets, before it's too late.

One more note before we start today's blog. Remember, we're getting new uniform tops this season so we're retiring our gray road jerseys, which are now for sale for $40 apiece. They have numbers, trim and the word "Knights" across the chest, all in cardinal.

Numbers 2, 3, 5, 8, 15 and 21 have already been sold, so you'd better hurry and get your favorite number before it's too late! Authentic game jerseys are very popular; we retired a set of cardinal jerseys in 2012 and there are very few of them left.

Now, on with the news.

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It was a big weekend for some of our 2013 Knights.

* OSU freshman Andrew Moore pitched 8.1 shutout innings and allowed just two hits against San Diego State and won his second start this season.

* Grand Canyon's Jorge Perez, a returnee from 2012, threw eight shutout innings and had nine strikeouts in a 9-0 win over Colorado Mesa.

* Washington State's Kellen Camus had a save and a win in a doubleheader sweeep of Eastern Michigan in Pullman.

* Infielder Marc Gallegos of Corban, another returnee, had five hits and scored four times as the Warriors went 1-2 at the Cascade Collegiate Conference-Northwest Conference showdown.

* Pitcher Chris Bishop of Pacific Lutheran, another returnee, struck out 14 in seven scoreless innings and got the win in a 3-0 victory over Concordia.

Those are just some of the highlights, we can't include everyone!

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UC Riverside junior pitcher Dylan Stuart (2011-12) was nominated for, but did not win, Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week honors for Feb. 18-24 for his complete-game, 2-1 win over Sacramento State on Feb. 22. He struck out five and allowed only seven hits.

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Here are updated stats for our 2013 Division I players:

CAL POLY: Freshman catcher/DH Brian Mundell is hitting .333 (6-18) with two RBIs in five games. Freshman infielder Brian Van Gansen is hitting .286 (6-21) with no homers or RBIs in seven games. Freshman pitcher Casey Bloomquist has not appeared yet.

OREGON STATE: Freshman pitcher Andrew Moore is 2-0, 0.66 in two starts, with eight strikeouts in 13.2 innings. Freshman infielder Gabe Clark is hitting .167 (2-12) in three games, with two RBIs.

OREGON: Freshmen pitchers Jared Priestley and Sam Johnson have not played yet.

UC IRVINE: Utility Chris Rabago is hitting .280 (7-25) in seven games, with no homers and five RBIs. Freshman pitcher Elliot Surrey is 0-0, 0.00 in three games, with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

UC SANTA BARBARA: Freshman outfielder Joseph DeRoche-Duffin is hitting .333 (1-3) in two games, with no homers or RBIs. Freshman pitcher Dylan Hecht is 0-0, 0.00 in three games, with nine strikeouts in six innings.

PORTLAND: Sophomore infielder Cody Lenahan is hitting .296 (9-27) in seven games, with no homers and five RBIs. Sophomore infielder Michael Lucarelli is hitting .125 (1-8) in four games, with no homers one RBI. Junior pitcher Colin Feldtman is 0-0, 5.40 in five innings over two appearances, with three strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Kody Watts is 0-0, 9.00 in one game, with no strikeouts in one inning.

WASHINGTON: Freshman pitcher Alex Nesbitt has not played.

WASHINGTON STATE: Junior outfielder Nate Blackham has not played. Junior pitcher Kellen Camus is 1-0, 1.50 in five games, with six strikeouts in six innings. Freshman pitcher Jacob Schroeder is 0-0, 10.14 in two games, with no strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

COLUMBIA: Sophomore outfielder Gus Craig and the Lions start their season at Lamar on Friday.

DARTMOUTH: Freshman outfielder Nick Ruppert and the Big Green start their season at Minnesota on Friday.

SAN JOSE STATE: Junior catcher Dane Lund is hitting .300 (3-10) with no homers and no RBIs in four games.

SAN DIEGO: Sophomore outfielder Grant Melker is hitting .000 (0-1) in four games, with no homers or no RBIs.

Remember, stats for our Division II, Division III, NAIA and JC players will be updated tomorrow.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

WENATCHEE: The AppleSox have hired Pepperdine University graduate Spencer Thurling as their new radio broadcaster. He'll announce every AppleSox game on the team's radio home 560 KPQ and online at www.kpq.com. Please click here for more details, from the Wenatchee website.

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That's all for today, see you on Tuesday.

Looking for a Knights' jersey?

Happy Thursday everyone. We're just plowing through the work week at the WWHQ, where it's just 103 more days until our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day II at Goss Stadium.

We've got lots to report and to link today, so we'll get right after it.

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We are getting new uniform tops this season (I've seen the prototypes, they look great). So, that means we're retiring our gray road jerseys, which are now for sale down here at the WWHQ in Madison Plaza for $40. As mentioned, they're gray, with cardinal numbers, trim and the word "Knights" across the chest.

So, act fast and come get your favorite number before it's too late! If history is a guide, they'll sell quickly; we've sold almost all of the cardinal jerseys we retired last year.

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Very nice story in the Vancouver Columbian newspaper about Knights veteran (2010-12) pitcher Max Beatty and his recovery from cancer. We've linked it on our home page and you can read the entire story by clicking right here. If you prefer the version from The Columbian's website, click here; it contains a link to a local TV station's story on Max.

BTW, Max is off to a great start this year at Pacific Lutheran (2-0, 0.00 in two appearances). He'll be pitching in Portland this weekend at the annual Northwest Conference-Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament at Concordia University.

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Knights veteran pitcher Taylor Starr (2008, 2012) of Oregon State also gets the hometown treatment in this story from The Daily News of Kelso-Longview, Wash.

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UC Santa Barbara sophomore pitcher/outfielder Greg Mahle, our 2012 MVP and the author of the first 9-inning no-hitter in Corvallis Knights history, gets lots of face time in this video from the team's website. The Gauchos are coached by former Knights' pitching coach Andrew Checketts (2000); current UCSB freshmen Dylan Hecht and Joseph DeRoche-Duffin will join us for the 2013 season.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: The Bells have signed left-handed pitcher Matt Bower, a freshman at Washington State. More information is available on the Bellingham website.

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats will hold a "pick your seat" promotion at Royal Athletic Park on March 3. Here are more details from Island Sports News.

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That's all for today. See you on a TGIF!

Kevin Burke headed to Pensacola for 2013 season

Happy Wednesday, everyone. As usual, it's another spectacular morning at the WWHQ in beautiful downtown CorVegas, the epicenter of the Pacific Northwest and the Knights Nation.

We're already halfway though the work week, and down to a mere 104 more days until our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day II at Goss Stadium. It will be here soon!

Also, check out the new look to corvallisknights.com. We've got handy, convenient new icons to facilitate your ticket and merchandise purchases, and a new banner board that will keep you updated on the status of games in case of rain, advise you of upcoming promotions, and let you know about other time-specific Knights news.

And, please take a gander at the new Knights graphics on our display window outside Madison Plaza on Madison Avenue in downtown Corvallis. They were designed by NW Graphic Imaging on 4th Street in downtown Corvallis, and boy are they sweet!

Now, on with the news.

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Some of you might have seen this news on our 2012 play-by-play broadcaster, Kevin Burke, on the Knights Facebook page on Tuesday. But if you didn't, we're happy to announce he has a new job in affiliated baseball for this season.

Kevin will be the No. 2 voice of the Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos, the double-A Southern League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. He'll do some play-by-play and color commentary during games, host the pregame show, and handle other media relations work as assigned.

He's already found a place to live in Pensacola, which opens the season April 4. The season runs through Sept. 2, so he should able to watch plenty of Virginia Tech football once the baseball season is over (he's a 2012 Tech grad, and a HUGE fan of the Hokies).

We'll have more on his hiring on our home page in the near future. In the meantime, we're sure he'll miss those road trips to Kelowna, but congrats to Burkie, who did a great job for us in 2012.

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It was practically a Knights Day at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, Wash., on Tuesday afternoon when Portland defeated Seattle 6-4 in a non-league game. Between the two teams, five of our former or current players started.

Kramer Scott (2011) was 1-for-3 with a run; Caleb Whalen (2012) was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI; Cody Lenahan (2013) was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI and Michael Lucarelli (2013) was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI for the Pilots. Nate Roberts (2011-12) was 1-for-4 with a run and a double for Seattle.

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Former Knights Jake Rodriguez (2010) and Matt Boyd (2010) of Oregon State were nominated for, but did not earn, Pac-12 Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week honors for their performances at the Palm Springs Classic this past weekend.

Jake hit .462 (6-13) with five RBIs in four games and Boyd pitched seven innings of six-hit ball, with four strikeouts, in a 9-2 win over Gonzaga on Feb. 16.

Congrats to both players for their fast starts!

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It's time for Installment 7 of our new feature, the Knights Top 10. Every Wednesday (for as long we we can find something to list), we'll list the Knights Top 10 in a certain category and post it in the Knights Daily Blog.

Today we list the Top 10 leaders in total extra-base hits in a single season (WCL games only):

1. 18, Logan Lotti, 2008 (12 2b, 2 3B, 4 HR)

2. 16, Nick Torres, 2012 (15 2B, 1 3B)

3. 15, Sean Myrom, 2011 (14 2B, 1 HR)

3. 15, David Armendariz, 2011 (12 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR)

3. 15, Dylan Jones, 2010 (10 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR)

3. 15, Taylor Ard, 2009 (11 2B, 4 HR)

7. 14, Caleb Whalen, 2012 (10 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR)

8. 12, Austin Barr, 2012 (10 2B, 2 HR)

8. 12, Alex Burg, 2008 (11 2B, 1 HR)

8. 12, Mitch Haniger, 2010 (4 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR)

Corey Davis earns honorable mention with 11 (9 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR) in 2010.

We'll be back next Wednesday with another Knights Top 10.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

MEDFORD: The expansion Rogues have signed freshman catcher Gregory Feinberg of Georgia Tech. For more details on Feinberg, and for other Rogues-related topics, click here for a story from the Our Sports Central website.

WALLA WALLA: Friday nights should be a lot of fun at Borleske Stadium this summer, thanks to this promotion between the Sweets and the local Laht Neppur Ale House. Cheers!

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

Big day for Knights at Santa Clara

It was a big day for former and current Corvallis Knights on Monday in Cal Poly's 5-4 victory at Santa Clara, the Mustangs' fourth straight win on a road trip that started with a three-game sweep at San Francisco.

Junior center fielder David Armendariz (2011) was 1-for-4 with an RBI; sophomore right fielder Nick Torres (2012) was 1-for-4 with a run; junior third baseman Jimmy Allen (2011) was 1-for-3; freshman shortstop Peter Van Gansen (2013) was 1-for-4 and freshman DH Brian Mundell (2013) scored twice. Santa Clara senior Chris Mendoza (2010-11) pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Armendariz hit .389 (7-18) on the trip, with three RBIs, and Allen hit .313 (5-16). Pitcher Bryan Granger (2012) also won a game over the Dons.

That's a great start for Cal Poly, which took second in the Big West Conference last season but was snubbed by the NCAA Selection Committee and not picked for the NCAA tournament.

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Knights general manager Bre Kerkvliet has been nominated for Albany's Junior First Citizen Award, to be given March 9 at the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and Samaritan Health Physicians 68th annual Distinguished Service Awards Banquet. It will be held at the Boys & Girls Club of Albany, 1215 Hill St. S.E., starting at 5:30 p.m.

Nominees for the Junior First Citizen Award must be under 40 years of age.

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Here's our first update of the 2013 college stats for our NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and junior-college players. We'll do this every Tuesday throughout the college season; stats for our NCAA Division I players are updated on Mondays.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Junior infielder Eddie Malone Jr. is hitting .400 (4-10) in four games, with three RBIs. Junior infielder Scott Stone is hitting .200 (2-10) in five games, with one RBI.

DIXIE STATE: Sophomore infielder Kevin Kline is hitting .750 (3-4) in one game, with a homer and one RBI.

GRAND CANYON: Sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez is 1-1, 2.25 in two games, with nine strikeouts in 12 innings. Freshman pitcher Andrew Naderer is 1-0, 1.54 in two games, with 14 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.

CORBAN: Sophomore infielder Marc Gallegos is hitting .379 (11-29) in six games, with five RBIs.

GEORGE FOX: Junior pitcher Tom Zarosinski is 1-1, 7.59 in two games, with five strikeouts in 10.2 innings. Sophomore pitcher Sean Eberhardt is 0-0, 0.00 five games, with six strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

PACIFIC: Sophomore pitcher Kyle Treadway is 0-1, 1.33 in one game, with two strikeouts in six innings.

PACIFIC LUTHERAN: Sophomore pitcher Chris Bishop is 0-0, 0.00 in four games, with two saves and three strikeouts in 3.2 innings. He has fnished all four games he's pitched in. Sophomore pitcher Jake Otness is 0-1, 27.00 in one game, with four strikeouts in four innings.

MT. HOOD CC: Sophomore pitcher Eric Huson and the Saints start their season March 2, at home against Edmonds CC.

TACOMA CC: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Choate, a Washington signee, and sophomore catcher Chad Michaud start their season on March 6, when the Tigers host Shoreline CC. Knights' pitching coach Connor Lambert has the same job with TCC during the school year.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: Bellingham has signed current University of Washington pitcher Dae Kim and infielder Alex Schmidt, and future Husky outfielders Jack Meggs and Mitch Bevacqua for the upcoming season. Here's more on the story from the Bells' website.

KELOWNA: The Falcons have signed three players from Frank Phillips College, located in the Texas Panhandle city of Borger. Find out who they are by clicking here for a story from the Falcons' website.

WALLA WALLA: The Sweets have finalized their roster with the signings of three more players. Read more details here, in this story from the Sweets' website.

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That's it for today. See you on Wednesday, with another Knights Top 10 list!