Medford hires Heeman as new GM

There's lots of news today about the new Medford franchise, which will join the West Coast League in 2013 and expand our footprint further into Southern Oregon.

Former Klamath Falls general manager Chuck Heeman has been named the new general manager of the expansion team, which will begin play this summer at a renovated Harry and David Field in that region's largest city.

Here's a story with more details from the Summer Ball website. Here's another story from the Medford Mail-Tribune. Also, if you're interested in naming the new club, you can send your suggestion to the Mail Tribune newspaper. Just click here to vote.

Medford should be a great addition to our growing league. It will join the Knights, Bend, Cowlitz, Kitsap and Klamath Falls in the West Division; the new Victoria club will join Wenatchee, Walla Walla, Kelowna and Bellingham in the East Division.

You can probably anticipate more expansion in the future. Yakima, Coeur d'alene and Redding and Chico, Calif., have been mentioned as possibilities.

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Here's some news from around the WCL:

KITSAP: The BlueJackets have signed outfielder Daniel Jewett of North Kitsap, P/UTIL Allen Hewey of Central Kitsap and 1B Daniel Orr of Kingston and Everett CC for the 2013 season.

Kitsap's been very active in signing 2013 players. Here's a complete rundown on the BlueJackets' 2013 signings from their twitter page.

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We'll be back on Thursday with more Knights/WCL news.

Marc Gallegos coming back

Happy Tuesday, everyone.

Maybe you saw it in today's Corvallis Gazette-Times, or on our website. But if you didn't, you now know that infielder Marc Gallegos of Corban University will return for an encore appearance with the Knights next summer.

A sophomore from Astoria who played shortstop, second base and DH, Gallegos hit .309 in 52 games, with no homers, 19 RBIs and a team-record 25 stolen bases. Originally a 10-day signee, he earned a full-time position and eventually led the Knights in runs (36) and hits (58), and was a second-team all-West Coast League selection.

Gallegos hit .346, with 26 RBIs and 33 steals, at Corban in 2012 and was an NAIA West first-team all-star selection, and an NAIA West Gold Glove selection.

He's the second returnee to be signed so far; pitcher Chris Bishop of Pacific Lutheran signed last week.

We expect to announce more signees, and more returnees, in the coming weeks. The 2013 schedule should be released some time in November.

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Pitcher/1B/DH Greg Mahle of UC Santa Barbara was named the Knights Most Outstanding Player for 2012 in a vote of the coaches. He led the Knights with a .337 average and was 3-1, 2.54 as a pitcher, with three saves and the first nine-inning no-hitter in Corvallis Knights history.

Rob Dittrick of Pacific University was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. He was 5-1, 0.95 overall and led the WCL with a 1.10 ERA in league games. A 10-day signee like Gallegos, he led the team in wins (5), innings (57) and strikeouts (33).

Catcher/infielder Chris Rabago of UC Irvine earned the Joe Segel Hustle Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of the Knights. Segel is the team's co-founder.

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That's all for today. It's a pretty slow time of the year.

Friday is our favorite day

Happy Friday, everyone. Another week in the books and we're that much closer to the 2013 season. It will seem even closer in November, when the West Coast League releases the 2013 schedule, but in the meantime we'll keep you up-to-datee with news to cure your Knights jones.

So, here we go.

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Nice interview with Knights shortstop Marc Gallegos of Corban University on Nine Inning Know It All. Read all about it by clicking right here.

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The Chicago White Sox have recalled former Knights infielder n Brent Morel (2006-07) from triple-A Charlotte. He's not on the active roster but is rehabbing a nagging back injury with the club.

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That's it for today; pretty slow down at the WWHQ and in the world of the Corvallis Knights. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Knights sign Columbia's Craig, PLU's Bishop

Slowly but surely, our 2013 club is beginning to take shape.

If you read the print edition of today's Corvallis Gazette-Times, you already know, but for everyone else, the Knights have signed Gus Craig, a sophomore outfielder at Columbia University, and Chris Bishop, a sophomore right-handed pitcher from Pacific Lutheran University who played briefly for the 2012 Knights, for the 2013 season.

Craig is a 6-foot-2, 210-pounder from Eugene. He hit .182, with no homers and four RBIs, for Columbia as a freshman in 2012 and then hit .255 in 48 games for the Torrington (Conn.) Titans in the Futures League, with a one homer and 19 RBIs.

Craig lettered in baseball, basketball and football at South Eugene and was a team captain in each sport. He was a four-time Midwest League all-star in baseball and hit .417 as a senior.

Bishop (5-11, 185) was 0-0 with a save, six strikeouts and a 1.12 ERA in eight innings over three games for the 2012 Knights as a 10-day signee. He was 3-3 with a 4.40 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 59.1 innings at PLU as a freshman in 2012.

He was a four-year letterman in baseball and football, a two-time Evergreen League MVP, and a three-time all-state pitcher and outfielder at Rochester High in Centralia, Wash., before enrolling at PLU.

So, welcome aboard, men! We'll see you in June, when we start our seventh summer in Corvallis against an as-yet opponent (the 2013 schedule will be released in November).

Peavey, Struck in Arizona Fall League

Two of our alums playing minor-league baseball will be busy in the next two months in the 2012 Arizona Fall League.

Pitcher Greg Peavey (2007) of the New York Mets will play for the Surprise Saguaros and pitcher Nick Struck (2009) of the Chicago Cubs will play for the Mesa Solar Sox. All six AFL teams (Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt City Rafters, Phoenix Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas, Surprise Saguaros) will play 32 games from Oct. 9 through Nov. 15.

According to the AFL website, each MLB franchise sends six top prospects to the Arizona Fall League, 180 players in all. The games are played in the spring training stadiums used by the Giants, Mariners, Padres, Cubs, A's, Royals, Rangers, D-backs and Rockies.

Each August, MLB teams hold a position draft to determine the players who will go to Arizona. Most are Double-A and Triple-A minor league players. Each club can opt to send one player considered a Class A player.

Peavey played at Oregon State; he signed in 2010 after being taken by the Mets in the sixth round of the draft. He was 8-8, 5.06 with Binghamton, the Mets' affiliate in the double-A Eastern League, in 2012.

Struck played at Mt. Hood CC and signed after being selected in the 39th round of the 2010 MLB draft. He was 14-10, 3.18 at Tennessee, the Cubs' affiliate in the double-A Southern League, this past summer.

Congrats, and good luck, to both players.

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Lots of former Knights will play in Oregon State's two five-inning scrimmages this weekend, set for 2:40 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday at Goss Stadium.

Knights/Beavers at the workouts are pitcher Matt Boyd (2010); infielder Danny Hayes (2010); infielder/catcher Jake Rodriguez (2010); pitcher Ben Wetzler (2011); pitcher Scott Schultz (2011); catcher Nate Esposito (2012); pitcher Carlos Rodriguez (2012); pitcher Adam Duke (2011), and pitcher Taylor Starr (2008).

Pitcher Jace Fry (2011) is injured and not participating in fall workouts. Ex-Knighta assistant Andy Jenkins (2012) is OSU's new volunteer assistant coach.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BEND: The infield at Vince Genna Stadium is getting renovated, according to the lead item on the menu on the Elks' website. That's good news to infielders throughout the WCL, who risked taking a shot in the chops (or elsewhere) via a bad hop or an unexpected bounce on every ground ball hit on the old infield.

We're Number 217!

Another day, another blog, another morning when we're happy not to be an NFL replacement referee! So, on to today's Knights-related news.

Regular readers here know what an attendance geek I am. It's one of the first things I look at when checking out the box score of any game in any league.

So we're happy to report that the Corvallis Knights ranked 217th overall in average attendance for all affiliated minor league, independent and summer collegiate baseball franchises this past summer. Here are the complete numbers, as compiled by Ballpark Biz.

Our per-game average (1,300, West Coast League regular-season games only) ranked third in the WCL behind Bend (204, 1,421) and Walla Walla (214, 1,331), and 37th overall among summer league teams. Not bad, considering we're in one of the smaller markets.

We drew 41,834 overall in 33 openings, an average of 1,268 for all games. That's a slight decrease from a record-setting 2011 (42,447), but considering our horrible June weather and no special attraction like the All-Star Game to boost our numbers, it was a very solid season.

We hope to do better next summer, of course. The 2013 WCL schedule will be announced sometime in November and we'll have ticket information available shortly thereafter.

And as usual, current season-ticket holders can reserve their same seats, GA tickets will still cost just $5, and the popular 10-game punchcard will still be available for just $40.

We will also begin announcing our projected 2013 roster and coaching staff in the near future. Things could always change, but right now we expect Brooke Knight to return for his sixth season at the helm. Pitching coach Connor Lambert of Tacoma Community College should also be back for his third summer, but we'll need a new assistant coach to succeed Andy Jenkins, now at Oregon State.

Brooke and president Dan Segel were in Southern California recently visiting with the coaches from our partner schools in that area to find out which players the coaches would be sending north next summer.

So stay tuned. September's usually a pretty slow month for Knights news but things should start picking up shortly.

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Three more Knights wrap up their minor-league seasons

Three more former Knights completed their minor-league seasons on Thursday night as their teams were eliminated from the postseason. Here's a roundup:

* BRENT MOREL (2007), DREW GARCIA (2007): Morel did not play and Garcia was 1-for-4 for Charlotte in a 4-1 loss to Pawtucket in Game 3 as the Pawsox swept the International League's best-of-5 Governors' Cup series. Charlotte is the White Sox's triple-A affiliate.

* ADAM MELKER (2008, 2009) and the rest of the Springfield Cardinals were idle in the Texas League finals. Springfield leads Frisco 2-0 in the best-of-5 series, which resumes tonight in Frisco, a Dallas suburb. Sringfield is the double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

* TYLER ANDERSON (2009) of Ashville pitched seven shutout innings in a 9-0 win over Greensboro in Game 1 of the South Atlantic League finals. He allowed four hits and struck out three; here are more details from MILB.com. Ex-Knights James Nygren (2009) and Scott Lyman (2010) did not pitch for Greensboro, which host Game 2 tonight.

* MICHAEL BLAKE (2010) of Missoula allowed one run in 1.2 innings in a 13-7 loss to Ogden in Game 2 of the best-of-3 Pioneer League championship series, which concludes tonight with Game 3 in Odgen. Missoula is Arizona's affiliate in the short-season A league.

Former Knight Dean Green (2008) and his Lakeland Flying Tigers won the Florida State League championship over Jupiter on Wednesday night.

The final regular-season stats of all our former Corvallis Knights in the minor leagues ran in Thursday's editions of the blog.

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Remember Jason Schwartz, the USC graduate who assisted Mike Parker on our 2010 broadcasts before joining the world of affiliated baseball with Tri City in 2011 and Lancaster, Calif., this season?

Well, he gets a mention in today's Houston Astros' "Farmstros" blog (Lancaster is Houston's affiliate). Seems as he's been a good-luck charm in the pros.

(We won't mention that the summer he worked with us is the only time we haven't advanced to the WCL Championship Series since moving to Corvallis in 2007. That would be in poor taste.)

Jason will head to Seattle as soon as the California League playoffs are done, to broadcast local high school football games this fall for a Puget Sound-area radio group.

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With the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League heading for Hillsboro next season, there's an opening for summer baseball in that Washington city and the WCL may fill that void.

A WCL expansion franchise may be coming to Yakima County Stadium, according to this story in the Yakima Herald newspaper. It would be a centrally-located franchise and make for an excellent travel partner with nearby (relatively speaking) Wenatchee.

So, wait and see. Victoria and Medford come online next season and they're trying to get a new stadium in Coeur d' Alene, which would be the new home for the suspended Spokane RiverHawks franchise.

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That's all for today. We're off next week (got to use that vacation sometime, since we can't in the summer), and we'll see you again on Sept. 24.

Great story on Max Beatty

Like we said yesterday in reference to Eric Young, the blog loves reporting good news about the Corvallis Knights.

So here's some more: This outstanding story on Knights' veteran pitcher Max Beatty of Pacific Lutheran, which appeared in Baseball America.

Max's story may be old news to us, but it's not to the rest of the country and now baseball fans everywhere can read about his remarkable recovery from cancer, and learn a little more about the Knights.

Also, check out the video (click on the highlighted "free-spirited jokester" link). Pretty funny.

Max has started his junior season at PLU, and we wish him the best.

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One former Knight completed his minor-league season on Wednesday night but we located another whose team is still active in the postseason. Here's a roundup:

* BRENT MOREL (2007), DREW GARCIA (2007): Morel and Garcia each went 0-for-4 for Charlotte in a 2-0 loss to Pawtucket in Game 2 of the International League's best-of-5 Governors' Cup series. Pawtucket leads 2-0; Game 3 is tonight at Charlotte, the White Sox's triple-A affiliate.

* ADAM MELKER (2008, 2009) was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Springfield in a 6-4 win over Frisco in Game 2 of the best-of-5 Texas League finals. Game 3 is tonight in Frisco; Springfield, the double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, leads 2-0.

* DEAN GREEN (2008) was 0-for-3 with a run for Lakeland in a 2-0 win over Jupiter in Game 5 that gave the Flying Tigers the Florida State League championship. Lakeland's is Detroit's affiliate in the FSL.

* MICHAEL BLAKE (2010) of Missoula did not pitch in a 4-3 win over Ogden in Game 1 of the best-of-3 Pioneer League championship series. Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) are tonight and Friday in Ogden. Missoula is Arizona's affiliate in the short-season A league.

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Speaking of the minors, here are the final regular-season stats for all our Corvallis Knights minor leaguers.

NICK AKINS, Dodgers (2007): The former Vanguard outfielder hit .238 (45-189) with eight homers and 24 RBIs for the Great Lakes Loons in the Class A Midwest League. He also hit .245 (25-102) with two homers and eight RBIs for Lake Elsinore in the California League.

DAYTON ALEXANDER, Athletics (2011): The former Feather River College outfielder hit .256 (10-39) with a homer and eight RBIs for the Arizona Rookie League A's. He also hit .145 (10-69) with four RBIs for Vermont in the New York-Penn League.

BO ALTOBELLI, Twins (2010): The ex-Texas Tech catcher hit .230 (14-61) with six RBIs for Elizabethton in the Class A Appalachian League.

TYLER ANDERSON, Rockies (2009): The ex-Oregon pitcher was 12-3, 2.47, with 81 strikeouts in 120.1 innings, for the Asheville Tourists in the Class A South Atlantic League.

MATT ANDRIESE, Padres (2009): The former UC Riverside pitcher was 10-8, 3.58 for Lake Elsinore in the Class A California League, with 131 strikeouts in 146 innings.

TAYLOR ARD, Mariners (2009): The former Washington State first baseman hit .284 (84-296) with 12 homers and 58 RBIs for Everett in the Class A Northwest League.

CODY BARTLETT, Blue Jays (2007): The ex-Washington State infielder hit .130 (6-46), with no homers and two RBIs, for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He missed much of the season with injuries.

CARTER BELL, Diamondbacks (2009): The ex-Oregon State infielder hit .259 (73-282) for Visalia in the Class A California League, with four homers and 36 RBIs.

DANIEL BIBONA, Cardinals, 2007: The former UC Irvine pitcher was 0-1, 6.43 for Batavia in the Class A New York-Penn League before being released.

MICHAEL BLAKE, Diamondbacks (2010): The former Mt. Hood CC/Hawaii pitcher was 0-1, 6.00 for Missoula in the Class A Pioneer League, with one save and 37 strikeouts in 24 innings.

ALEX BURG, Giants (2008): The former Washington State star, out 2008 MVP, hit .252 (87-343) for San Jose in the Class A California League, with 10 homers and 43 RBIs.

MATT DUFFY, Giants (2010): The former Long Beach State infielder hit .247 (45-182) with one homer and 16 RBIs for Salem-Keizer in the Class A Northwest League. He missed part of the season with injuries.

JOHN ESHLEMAN, Giants (2008): The former San Jacinto JC infielder hit .211 (12-57) with three RBIs for Augusta in the Class A South Atlantic League and .000 (0-0) with a run for Richmond in the Class AA Eastern league befor ebeing released.

ROCKY GALE, Padres (2007, 2009): The former University of Portland catcher hit .171 (21-123) with Tucson in the triple-A Pacific Coast League, with 11 RBIs. He also hit .200 (1-5) at double-A San Antonio in the Texas League and .180 (9-56), with a homer and six RBIs, for Class A Lake Elsinore in the California League.

DREW GARCIA, White Sox (2007): The former UC Riverside infielder hit .234 (85-364) for Charlotte in the triple-A International League, with five homers and 49 RBIs. He also hit .316 (42-123) for Birmingham in the Class AA Southern League, with a homer and 26 RBIs.

SAM GAVIGLIO, Cardinals (2009): The ex-Oregon State pitcher was 9-9, 3.92 for Quad City in the Class A Midwest League, with 113 strikeouts in 133 innings.

DEAN GREEN, Tigers (2008): The ex-Oklahoma State/Lee University infielder/DH hit .348 (49-141) for Lakeland in the Florida State League, with three homers and 36 RBIs. He also hit .306 (67-219) for West Michigan in the Class A Midwest League, with nine homers and 38 RBIs, and .094 (3-32) for the Gulf Coast League Tigers, with five RBIs.

MITCH HANIGER, Brewers (2010): The the former Cal Poly outfielder hit .286 (14-49), with a homer and eight RBIs, for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Class A Midwest League before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

CHRIS JOHNSON, Giants (2011): The former University of Portland pitcher was 2-4, 6.84 for Salem-Keizer in the Class A Northwest League, with 47 strikeouts in 48.2 innings.

D.J. JOHNSON, Diamondbacks (2008-09): The former Mt. Hood/Western Oregon pitcher was 2-3, 6.55 for Visalia of the Class A California League, with three saves and 28 strikeouts in 22 innings. He was 2-4, 3.08 for South Bend in the Class A Midwest League, with four saves and 32 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.

KYLE KRAUS, Red Sox (2009-10): The former University of Portland pitcher was 0-0, 3.18 for Greenville in the South Atlantic League, with 15 strikeouts in 17 innings. He was also 0-0, 2.61 for Lowell in the Class A New York-Penn League, with three saves and eight strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

SCOTT LYMAN, Marlins (2010): The ex-UC Davis pitcher was 3-6, 5.30 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the Class A South Atlantic League, with 62 strikeouts in 74.2 innings. He was 0-1, 15.00 for the Gulf Coast League Marlins, with three strikeouts in three innings.

THOMAS McCARTHY, White Sox (2010): The former Kentucky third baseman hit .302 (45-149) for Great Falls in the Class A Pioneer League, with one homer and 18 RBIs.

ADAM MELKER, Cardinals (2008-09): The former Cal Poly outfielder hit .278 (98-352) for Springfield in the double-A Texas League, with 10 homers and 35 RBIs.

BRENT MOREL, White Sox (2007): The former Cal Poly third baseman hit .194 (24-124) for Charlotte in the triple-A International League, with a homer and 10 RBIs. He also hit .177 (20-113) for the White Sox, with no homers and five RBIs, and .227 (5-22) for Winston-Salem in the Carolina League, with no homers and two RBIs.

JIM MURPHY, Phillies (2007): The former Washington State first baseman, our 2007 MVP, hit .275 (126-489) for Clearwater in the Class A Florida State League, with 17 homers and 85 RBIs.

JAMES NYGREN, Marlins (2009): The former Oregon State pitcher was 6-2, 4.97 for Greensboro in the Class A South Atlantic League, with 10 saves and 44 strikeouts in 76 innings.

EDDIE OROZCO, Cubs (2008-09): The former UC Riverside pitcher was 2-1, 1.95 for the Boise Hawks in the Class A Northwest League, with six saves and 31 strikeouts in 27.2 innings. He was also 1-0, 0.00 for the Arizona Rookie League Cubs, with two strikeouts in one inning.

JOSH OSICH, Giants (2008): The former Oregon State pitcher was 0-2, 3.62 for San Jose in the Class A California League, with a save and 34 strikeouts in 32.1 innings.

GREG PEAVEY, Mets (2008): The ex-Oregon State pitcher was 8-8, 5.06 for Binghamton in the double-A Eastern League, with 84 strikeouts in 144 innings.

NICK STRUCK, Cubs (2010): The former Mt. Hood CC pitcher was 14-10, 3.18 for Tennessee in the Class AA Southern League, with 123 strikeouts in 155.2 innings.

ANDREW SUSAC, Giants (2009): The former Oregon State catcher hit .244 (88-361) for San Jose in the Class A California League, with nine homers and 52 RBIs.

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Ex-Knights in International League championship series

Former Corvallis Knights infielders Brent Morel (2007) and Drew Garcia (2007) of the Charlotte Knights will be chasing a league title this week when their team faces Pawtucket in the International League's Governors' Cup championships.

Games 1 and 2 of the best-of-5 series will be played in Pawtucket tonight and Wednesday. Games 3 (and 4 and 5, if necessary) will be played in Charlotte on Thursday through Saturday. Charlotte is the Chicago White Sox's triple-A affiliate; Pawtucket is Boston's.

Morel hit .194 (24-124) with a homer and 10 RBIs in 34 games at Charlotte. He started the season with the White Sox but was hampered by a back injury and sent to the minors to rehab. Garcia started the season at double-A Birmingham and then hit .234 (85-364) with five homers and 49 RBIs after being promoted to triple-A.

Charlotte eliminated Indianapolis and Pawtucket ousted Scranton-Wilkes Barre in the semefinals.

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Cal Poly junior David Armendariz, the MVP of our 2011 West Coast League championship team, was No. 45 on Perfect Game's list of the top 70 prospects in the Northwoods League. He hit .282 (60-213) in 50 games with the Green Bay Bullfrogs in 2012, with three homers and 22 RBIs.

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At least five (there may be more, but if there are we couldn't find them) former Corvallis Knights have completed their seasons with teams in independent baseball.

Here's an update on how they fared:

* MATT WAY, 2007): The ex-Washington State star played for the Laredo (Tex.) Lemurs in the American Association and was 10-7 with a 3.98 ERA in 21 games. He had 112 strikeouts, third in the league, in 128.2 innings pitched.

* ERIC MASSINGHAM, 2007): The former Cal Poly pitcher was 0-0, 2.25 in four games, with five strikeouts in four innings, after being traded to Fargo-Moorhead of the American Association from Evansville of the Frontier League in August. He was 4-2, 2.86 with Evansville, with 21 saves and 49 strikeouts in 34.2 innings over 33 games.

* RITCHIE JIMENEZ, 2008, 2009): The ex-Riverside City College/UNLV shortstop hit .230 (41-178), with two homers and 23 RBIs, in 59 games with the Gateway (Ill.) Grizzlies in the Frontier League.

* MARK SAMUELSON, 2007): The former UC Riverside first baseman hit .250 (30-120), with 2 homers and 19 RBIs, in 36 games with Washington (Pa.) and .278 (54-194) with nine homers and 52 RBIs in 57 games with London (Ont.) in the Frontier League. Combined, he hit .268 (84-314) in 93 games, with nine homers and 52 RBIs.

* LOGAN LOTTI, 2008: The former Oregon State/Western Oregon outfielder hit .360 (95-264) in 64 games for Las Cruces in the Pecos League, with 22 homers and 86 RBIs.

We'll have final 2012 stats on all our Corvallis Knights minor leaguers later this week.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BEND: Former Oregon State outfielder Tyler Graham became the fourth former Elk (2004) to play in the major leagues when he appeared in a recent game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Here's more on the story from the Bend website; click on the first item on the menu.

COWLITZ: Grant Wilson has resigned as the Black Bears general manager after three seasons with the club. Here are more details, from The Daily News of Kelso-Longview.

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

We are back! Lots of news.

The Blog is back after a week of vacation. We had a great time, but now it's back to the grindstone and we've got lots of Knights news to catch up on.

So, here goes.

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No Knights were represented in Baseball America's list of the West Coast League's top-10 prospects. But we were well-represented on Perfect Game's list of the WCL's top 30 pro prospects from the 2012 season.

So honored were C Austin Barr (10) of Camas (Wash.) High School; 1B/LHP P Greg Mahle (11) of UC Santa Barbara; RHP Trevor Frank (14)of UC Riverside; RHP Bryan Granger (21) of Cal Poly; 3B Caleb Whalen (22) of the University of Portland, and OF Connor Hofmann (28) of Oregon.

Congrats to all!

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Riverside City College coach Dennis Rogers, a longtime friend of the Knights, has been named the first coach of the WCL's expansion Victoria franchise. Here are the details, first from the Victoria Times Colonlist and and then from the Victoria News.

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Former Knights pitcher Aaron Corwin (2010, 2012) will attend Division II Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo., for his senior season, his family announced last week.

He had planned to attend Seattle University this fall after transferring from Texas Tech following a coaching change in Lubbock. However, that fell though at the last minute and he then committed to Western Oregon as a walk-on. However, Mesa State came though with a scholarship offer that was too good to turn down.

So, best of luck to Aaron, who had a solid season for us (1-0, 4.28, two saves) after a low start.

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Here's a nice story from the Pacific University website on Boxers' senior pitcher Rob Dittrick, a 2012 Knights star who led the WCL in ERA (1.10) while earning all-league honors.

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That's all for today. It's nice to be back at work (no, seriously!) and we'll have more Knights news on Tuesday.