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It's a TGIF at the WWHQ

April 19, 2013

Finally, it's Friday.

And a pretty dismal one at that here in downtown CorVegas. I guess today is why Crescent Valley made the right choice by playing its varsity, JV and freshman baseball games against Lebanon on Thursday instead of today, as was originally scheduled.

Be that as it may ... I know it probably gets annoying to some of you out there, but we're down to 46 more days until our June 4 season opener, a nonconference game with the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Say at Goss Stadium. The Lobos are an independent U-19 team who will also close our home schedule when they return to Goss Stadium on Aug. 8 for our regular-season home finale.

So, if you haven't renewed your season ticket, please do so now, if you want the same seat as last year. And 10-game punch cards are still available, but we do have a limited number and when we're out, we're out.

Now, on to today's Knights news.

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We originally reported it on Wednesday and finally we have confirmation: George Fox junior Tom Zarosinski, a 10-day signee, was named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 8-14. Here's the official release from the league.

Congrats to Tom, who also pitched for us briefly in 2011.

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Two 2013 Knights had excellent outings for their respective college teams on Thursday but only one earned a victory on a very light day of action.

* Mt. Hood sophomore Eric Huson limited Linn-Benton to four hits and one run over seven innings in a 5-1 victory. Huson struck out three.

* Grand Canyon sophomore Jorge Perez allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings but the Antelopes lost 5-1 to Cal Baptist. Jorge had one strikeout.

Most of our 2013 Knights will be in action this weekend.

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Reading (AA Eastern, Phillies) first baseman Jim Murphy, our 2007 MVP, hit his third homer of the season in a 7-1 loss to Richmond to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Augusta (a South Atlantic, Giants) shortstop Matt Duffy (2010) was 1-for-2 with an RBI, two runs and two walks in a 5-1 win over Kannapolis.

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It's Friday, so here are the latest updated stats from your Corvallis Knights alums in affiliated minor-league baseball:

TAYLOR ARD (2009): Taylor is hitting .189 (7-37), with a homer and six RBIs, in 10 games with Clinton (Iowa), Seattle's affiliate in the Class A Midwest League.

MATT DUFFY (2010): Matt is hitting .302 (16-53) with eight RBIs in 14 games with Augusta (Ga.), San Francisco's affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League.

ROCKY GALE (2007, 2009): Rocky is hitting .200 (3-15) with two RBIs in five games for San Antonio, San Diego's affiliate in the double-A Texas League.

DREW GARCIA (2007): Drew is hitting .185 (5-27) with four RBIs in nine games for Charlotte, the Chicago White Sox's affiliate in the triple-A International League.

MITCH HANIGER (2010): Mitch is hitting .278 (10-36) with five RBIs in 10 games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Milwaukee's affiliate in the Class A Midwest League.

ADAM MELKER (2008, 2009): Adam is hitting .229 (8-35) with two homers and three RBIs in 11 games for Springfield (Mo.), St. Louis's affiliate in the double-A Texas League.

BRENT MOREL (2006, 2007): Brent is hitting .231 (9-39) with a homer and six RBIs in 11 games for Charlotte, the Chicago White Sox's affiliate in the triple-A International League.

JIM MURPHY (2007): Jim is hitting .340 (18-53) with three homers and 12 RBIs in 13 games for Reading (Pa.), Philadelphia's affiliate in the double-A Eastern League.

ANDREW SUSAC (2009): Andrew is hitting .282 (11-39) with two homers and eight RBIs in 12 games for Richmond (Va.), San Francisco's affiliate in the double-A Eastern League.

TYLER ANDERSON (2009): Tyler is 0-0, 2.08 in three games with Modesto, Colorado's affiliate in the single-A California League. He has 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.

MATT ANDRIESE (2009): Matt is 1-0, 1.80 in two appearances for San Antonio, San Diego's affiliate in the double-A Texas League. He has nine strikeouts in 10 innings.

SAM GAVIGLIO (2009): Sam is 3-0, 2.65 in three games with Palm Beach, St. Louis's affiliate in the single-A Florida State League. He has 14 strikeouts in 17 innings.

KYLE KRAUS (2009, 2010): Kyle is 1-0, 1.23 with one save in four games for Greenville (S.C.), Boston's affiliate in the single-A South Atlantic League. He has nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings.

SCOTT LYMAN (2010): Scott is 0-1, 3.21 in three games for Greensboro (N.C.), Miami's affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League, with 11 strikeouts in 14 innings.

EDDIE OROZCO (2008, 2009): Eddie is 1-1, 4.50 with one save in four appearances with Kane County (Ill.), the Chicago Cubs' affiliate in the Class A Midwest League, with two strikeouts in four innings.

GREG PEAVEY (2007): Greg is 0-0, 0.82 in six appearances with Las Vegas, the New York Mets' affiliate in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. He has six strikeouts in 11 innings.

JOSH OSICH (2008): Josh is 0-0, 1.08 with two saves in six games with San Jose, San Francisco's affiliate in the Class A California League. He has eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

JAMES NYGREN (2009): James is 0-1, 10.13 in four appearances with Jupiter, Miami's affiliate in the Class A Florida State League. He has three strikeouts in eight innings.

NICK STRUCK (2009): Nick is 0-1, 6.00 in two games with Iowa, the Chicago Cubs' affiliate in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. He has four strikeouts in nine innings.

We'll add other Knights' alums to the list as they are assigned to their respective teams.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: The Bells will celebrate Flag Day on June 14, commemorating the adoption of the US flag in 1777. They have partnered with John Howie Steak to present a 2013 Bells House Flag. For more details, click here.

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats still need host families for the upcoming season. They are looking to billet 27 players, give or take one or two, but only 12 are billeted so far. For more details, click here for a story from the Victoria News.

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That's it for today. Have a great weekend everybody!


It's Thursday already

April 18, 2013

Yes, the work week is flying by, and tomorrow is already a TGIF.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It's Thursday, and we're down to only 47 more days until our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day at Goss Stadium. So while it's coming fast, there's still plenty of time to renew or buy a season ticket, or to purchase a 10-game punch card. Just stop by the WWHQ in the Madison Plaza building in downtown CorVegas and we'll set you up.

Now, on to today's Knights news.

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Nice story on alum Matt Boyd of Oregon State in today's Oregonian. Click here to read the link from our website. Matt pitched and played first base for us in 2010 and was an all-West Coast League selection.

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Several Knights in action for their respective college teams on Wednesday. Here's a roundup (all players 2013 unless noted):

* Oregon State won 5-1 at Portland on Wednesday. Alum Danny Hayes (2009) was 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs and Jake Rodriguez (2009) was 0-for-3 with a run. For the Pilots, Cody Lenahan was 0-for-4; Michael Lucarelli was 0-for-4; Caleb Whalen (2012) was 0-for-4; Beau Fraser (2012) was 0-for-2 and Kramer Scott (2011) was 1-for-3.

* Concordia center fielder Blake Drake was 2-for-6 with two RBIs in a 10-1 win over Pacific University.

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Greenville (A South Atlantic, Red Sox) pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10) threw 3.1 innings of scoreless relief and got the win when the Drive rallied for five runs in the eighth to edge West Virginia 6-5. Kraus allowed one hit and struck out five.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Palm Beach (A Florida State, Cardinals) pitcher Sam Gaviglio (2009) improved to 3-0 with a 5-3 win over Fort Myers. He allowed seven hits and two runs over six innings, with three strikeouts.

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It's a Thursday, so that means another edition of the Knights Top 10.

"Walk's as good as a hit!" How many times have you heard that adage in baseball? Of course it's not true, but it's the next-best thing. So today's Top 10 lists the all-time season leaders in reaching base via a walk, or by being hit by a pitch (WCL games only).

1. 42, Trent Oleszczuk (2011)

2. 34, Caleb Whalen (2012)

3. 30, Dylan Jones (2010)

4. 27, Richie Jimenez (2009)

4. 27, Corey Moore (2011)

6. 25, Adam Melker (2008)

6. 25, Mitch Haniger (2010)

6. 25, Corey Davis (2011)

6. 25, Kramer Scott (2011)

10. 24, D.J. Johnson (2009)

Honorable mention goes to Logan Lotti (2008); Taylor Ard (2009); Pat Colwell (2009) and Jones (2009) again, as they all totaled 23 walks/HBPs in a single season.

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

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats have signed Chris Lewis, a 6-foot, 190-pound utility player from Sacramento State. They have also released four previously-signed players. For full details, click here and read the always-informative HarbourCats Baseball Blog.

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


Northwest Conference honors Zarosinski

April 17, 2013

Happy Wednesday, everybody! The work week is already halfway over, and we're down to just 48 more days until our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day at Goss Stadium.

We've got some good news to report his morning, so we won't tarry. George Fox junior right-handed pitcher Tom Zarosinski, a 10-day signee, was named the Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Week for April 8-14 for winning two games and helping the Bruins move 1/2 game ahead of Linfield in the conference title race.

Zarosinski allowed two earned runs and had five strikeouts in six innings in a 16-6 win over Puget Sound on April 8, then pitched a complete-game 5-hitter, with eight strikeouts, in a 7-2 win over PLU on April 14. He's now 3-4 with a 3.94 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched.

So, congrats to Tom, who also played for us briefly in 2011 after his freshman year at Oregon State. He then played in WCL Portland, and transferred to GFU for his sophomore year.

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Lots of 2013 Knights, and alums, involved in games for the respective college teams on Tuesday. Here's a roundup (all players 2013 unless noted):

* Oregon edged Portland 4-1 on the Bluff. Connor Hofmann (2011-12) was 1-for-3, Jimmy Sherfy (2011) struck out the side in the ninth for his 12th save and Jared Priestley threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, with two strikeouts, for the Ducks. Cody Lenahan was 0-for-4; Caleb Whalen (2012) was 1-for-4 with a run; Beau Fraser (2012) was 0-for-2; Kramer Scott (2011) was 1-for-2; Kody Watts pitched six shutout innings and had six strikeouts and Colin Feldtman pitched 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, with four strikeouts, for the Pilots.

* UC Irvine shortstop Chris Rabago (2012-13) was 1-for-4 with a run and pitcher Evan Brock (2010) allowed one run and had two strikeouts in two innings in a 6-4, 12-inning loss to UCLA.

* San Diego outfielder Grant Melker was 0-for-1 in a 7-5 win over UC Santa Barbara.

* Cal Poly shortstop Peter Van Gansen was 0-for-4; DH Brian Mundell was 0-for-2 with an RBI and pitcher Casey Bloomquist earned his second straight win with 6.1 innings of four-hit ball in a 7-2 victory over Santa Clara. Bloomquist allowed two runs and had eight strikeouts. Jimmy Allen (2011) was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs; Nick Torres (2012) was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI and David Armendariz (2011) was 0-for-3 with an RBI for the Mustangs. Chris Mendoza (2010, 2011) gave up two runs in 4.1 innings of relief and shortstop Justin Viele (2010) was 0-for-4 for the Broncos.

* Washington State reliever Kellen Camus had two strikeouts in 2.1 scoreless innings in a 4-3 loss to Gonzaga.

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DH Dean Green (2008) of the Lakeland Flying Tigers (A Florida State, Tigers) was 4-for-6 with an RBI in a 6-5 loss to Brevard County on Tuesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* San Jose (A California, Giants) pitcher Josh Osich threw a perfect ninth inning to save a 2-1 victory over Stockton. He now has two saves.

* Clinton (A Midwest, Mariners) first baseman Taylor Ard (2009) was a combined 2-for-6 with two runs, two RBIs and a double in a doubleheader split with Quad Cities.

* Augusta (A South Attlantic, Giants) shortstop Matt Duffy (2010) was 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run in a 2-1 victory over Lexington.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

BELLINGHAM: The Bells have partnered with Sport Restaurant & Bar for a co-branded scarf giveaway night for their June 21 game against Kelowna. Get full details by clicking here.

KITSAP: Future BlueJacket Cole Thompson of Centenary College was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row. Click here for full details.

MEDFORD: Future Rogue Joe Chavez of UC Riverside was named Big West Conference Player of the Week. Read all about it right here.

VICTORIA: Here's the latest edition of the HarbourCats Baseball Blog, highlighting the team's Cal State Fullerton players.

WALLA WALLA: Here's the latest installment of "10 Things to Know About Sweets Baseball," a regular feature on the club's website.

WENATCHEE: The AppleSox have signed right-handed pitchers Chris McDowell of Washington State and Trevor Dunlap of the University of Washington for the 2013 season. Full details can be found here on the team's website.

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That's all for today. See you on Thursday with another edition of the Blog and with a Knights Top 10.


Happy Tuesday, everyone

April 16, 2013

It's a beautiful day in downtown CorVegas and at the WWHQ. The sun is out and everyone is happy that spring seems to have finally arrived, at least temporarily. It's just 49 more days (seven weeks) until our June 4 season opener with the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day at Goss Stadium.

Lots of Knights news, and news from around the West Coast League, to report today, so let's get started.

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Alums Matt Boyd (2010) of Oregon State and Jimmie Sherfy (2011) of Oregon were nominated for Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors for April 8-14 but were not selected. Boyd shut out Utah 1-0 in April 12; Sherfy saved three of four games during the week.

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We just got an update on Nick Ruppert, the freshman center fielder from Dartmouth who will be playing for us this summer. He suffered a broken hand several weeks ago and is recovering, but he'll miss the May 4-5 Ivy Championships, if the Big Green make it that far by winning their division.

However, he should be recovered in time to play in the NCAA Regionals, if Dartmouth qualifies for the tournament, and should be good to go for the summer. He was hitting .345 (19-55) in 16 games, with eight RBIs when he was hurt, so it's been a big loss for his team.

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Springfield (AA Texas, Cardinals) outfielder Adam Melker (2008, 2009) homered and had two RBIs in a 9-1 victory over San Antonio to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Charlotte (AAA International, White Sox) third baseman Brent Morel (2006, 2007) doubled and drove in two runs in a 6-3 loss to Durham.

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It's Tuesday, so here is 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. All stats are through Monday's games.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Junior infielder Scott Stone is hitting .351 (13-37) in 20 games, with one homer and five RBIs.

CONCORDIA: Sophomore outfielder Blake Drake is hitting .349 (58-166) in 41 games, with 17 RBIs.

CORBAN: Sophomore infielder Marc Gallegos is hitting .393 (46-117) in 27 games, with a homer and 20 RBIs. He's still sidelined with a shoulder injury.

DIXIE STATE: Sophomore infielder Kevin Kline is hitting .382 (39-102) in 32 games, with six homers and 34 RBIs.

GEORGE FOX: Junior pitcher Tom Zarosinski is 3-4, 3.94 in 10 games, with 50 strikeouts in 59.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Sean Eberhardt is 3-0, 3.55 in 12 games, with nine strikeouts in 12.2 innings.

GRAND CANYON: Sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez is 5-3, 3.55 in 10 games, with 45 strikeouts in 63.1 innings. Freshman pitcher Andrew Naderer is 6-2, 2.96 in 10 games, with 47 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.

MT. HOOD CC: Sophomore pitcher Eric Huson is 2-0, 2.07 in five games, with 21 strikeouts in 34.2 innings.

PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: Sophomore pitcher Kyle Treadway is 1-6, 3.80 in eight games, with 20 strikeouts in 45 innings.

PACIFIC LUTHERAN: Sophomore pitcher Chris Bishop is 1-3, 5.17 in 14 games, with three saves and 33 strikeouts in 38.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Jake Otness is 1-1, 7.83 in 13 games, with 18 strikeouts in 23 innings.

TACOMA CC: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Choate, a Washington signee, is 0-1, 4.50 in seven games, with three saves and 14 strikeouts in 10 innings. Sophomore Chad Michaud is hitting .348 (16-46) in 13 games, with a homer and 16 RBIs as a catcher and is 0-0, 0.00 in three games as a pitcher, with a save and five strikeouts in three innings. 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:

KELOWNA: The Falcons will welcome several former players for the Toronto Blue Jays back to Kelowna and Elks Stadium on August 22-24 as part of their Blue Jays Honda Super Camps for Kids. Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Lloyd Moseby, Jesse Barfield, Kelowna native Paul Spoljaric and 1993 World Series champion Duane Ward are scheduled to be in Kelowna. Full details can be found by clicking here, thanks to Our Sports Central.

MEDFORD: The Rogues have signed Nicholas Hall, a junior infielder from Pacific Lutheran, to a 10-day contract. Click here for more information, from the team's website.

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats have partnered with Harbour Air Seaplanes to bring "Turbo's Flight Night presented by Harbour Air" to Royal Athletic Park for two games. Click here for more details from the Our Sports Central website.

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


Moore, Boyd, Sherfy added to Pitcher of the Year Watch List

April 15, 2013

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you all had great weekends!

We back at the grind here at the WWHQ of the Corvallis Knights and we've got some great news to start off the week with (now, not that the countdown to our June 4 season opener with the Portland Lobos has reached 50 days, but that's significant).

Alums Matt Boyd (2010) of Oregon State and Jimmie Sherfy 2011) of Oregon, and future Knight Andrew Moore (2013) of Oregon State have been added to the College Baseball Hall of Fame's Pitcher of the Year watch list.

An all-WCL selection for us in 2010, Boyd blanked Utah 1-0 this past Friday in his most recent start. He is 7-1 with a 1.55 ERA and leads the Beavers in innings pitched (63.2) and strikeouts (58). He has earned two Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors and is a candidate for his third after the shutout of the Utes.

A freshman, Moore also defeated Utah this past weekend, as he allowed three runs and five hits over 6.2 innings in an 8-3 win on Saturday. He is 7-1 with a 1.61 ERA and a save in nine games.

Sherfy saved three of Oregon's four wins last week. He's tied for third in the nation in saves (11), and is 2-0 with a 1.11 ERA.

All in all, it was a great Beavers/Knights weekend. Boyd won on Friday; Moore won on Saturday, and Brandon Jackson (2012)closed it out with two scoreless innings, and Ben Wetzler (2011) won on Sunday, with Scott Schultz (2011) getting the save.

Now, on with more news.

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Dixie State sophomore infielder Kevin Kline, a 2013 Knight, was named the Hawai'i Tourism Authority Pacific West Conference Baseball Player of the Week for games contested April 8-14. He went 7-for-13 with seven runs, three doubles, a triple and two homers in a series against Grand Canyon University. Click here for complete details.

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A quick clarification. Alum Thomas McCarthy (2010) voluntarily retired from the Chicago White Sox after one year in their organization. Technically he was released, but it was at his request. He hit .302 at Great Falls in the Pioneer League last season after concluding a standout college career at Western Oregon, Feather River JC and at Kentucky, where he was a two-time SEC all-star.

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Speaking of Knights alums, catcher Ryan Gorton (2011), a key component of our 2011 West Coast League champions, has signed with the Oakland A's. He was selected by them in the 31st round last year but could not play because of an injury. Gorton homered in both games of our sweep over Walla Walla in the 2011 WCL Championship Series.

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First baseman Jim Murphy of the Reading Fightin' Phils, our 2007 MVP, homered, doubled, scored once and had three RBI's in an 8-5 win over Erie on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Reading is Philadelphia's affiliate in the double-A Eastern League.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Charlotte (AAA International, White Sox) second baseman Drew Garcia doubled, singled and drove in two runs in a 5-2, 11-inning win over Durham.

* San Jose (A California, Giants) earned his first save in an 8-6 victory over Visalia. He allowed one hit and had two strikeouts in 1.1 innings.

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Last Thursday Knights' president Dan Segel listed the top 10 players who signed with the Knights, but who never played for us because they were injured, or turned professional. Come to find out he forgot one player who certainly would have made that list.

Third baseman Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres was set to play for the Knights in 2003, after his freshman year at the University of the Pacific. However, he then elected to transfer to Tennessee, and instead played elsewhere that summer.

Too bad for us. He had a monster year with the Padres in 2012 and is just about ready to come off the DL and start his 2013 season.

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Another update: 2012 Knights media intern Brenna Sussman, a sophomore at Pacific Lutheran, will intern with the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer this summer. Sounds like a great gig. The only thing I can think of that would top that (in the soccer world) would be to intern with Aston Villa, the Blog's favorite side in the Barclay's Premier League!

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It's a Monday, so here are updated stats for our 2013 Division I players:

CAL POLY: Freshman catcher/DH Brian Mundell is hitting .287 (31-108) with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 29 games. Freshman infielder Peter Van Gansen is hitting .313 (30-96) with no homers and seven RBIs in 33 games. Freshman pitcher Casey Bloomquist is 1-0, 6.94 in three games, with 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings.

COLUMBIA: Sophomore outfielder Gus Craig is hitting .313 (5-16) in 19 games, with no homers and two RBIs.

DARTMOUTH: Freshman outfielder Nick Ruppert is hitting .345 (19-55) in 16 games, with eight RBIs. He is presently sidelined until early-to-mid May with a broken hand.

OREGON: Freshmen pitcher Jared Priestley is 0-0, 0.00 in two games, with one strikeout in two innings. Freshman pitcher Sam Johnson is 0-0, 4.50 in two games, with two strikeouts in two innings.

OREGON STATE: Freshman pitcher Andrew Moore is 7-1, 1.61 in nine appearances, with a save and 37 strikeouts in 56 innings. Freshman infielder Gabe Clark is hitting .167 (5-30) in 13 games, with four RBIs.

PORTLAND: Sophomore infielder Cody Lenahan is hitting .276 (35-127) in 34 games, with no homers and 15 RBIs. Sophomore infielder Michael Lucarelli is hitting .214 (18-84) in 31 games, with no homers and nine RBIs. Junior pitcher Colin Feldtman is 2-1, 3.13 in 23 innings over 13 appearances, with two saves and 14 strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Kody Watts is 1-2, 9.00 in six games, with five strikeouts in 12 innings.

SAN DIEGO: Sophomore outfielder Grant Melker is hitting .000 (0-4) in 17 games, with two runs, no homers and no RBIs.

SAN JOSE STATE: Junior catcher Dane Lund is hitting .244 (10-41) with no homers and three RBIs in 17 games.

UC IRVINE: Utility man Chris Rabago is hitting .269 (32-119) in 32 games, with a homer and 13 RBIs. Freshman pitcher Elliot Surrey is 1-0, 5.06 in eight games, with nine strikeouts in 10.2 innings.

UC SANTA BARBARA: Freshman outfielder Joseph DeRoche-Duffin is hitting .143 (1-7) in seven games, with no homers or RBIs. Freshman pitcher Dylan Hecht is 0-2, 2.21 in 17 games, with 27 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.

WASHINGTON: Freshman pitcher Alex Nesbitt is 0-0, 0.00 in one appearance, with a strikeout in .1 innings.

WASHINGTON STATE: Junior pitcher Kellen Camus is 3-1, 3.47 in 17 games, with three saves and 26 strikeouts in 23.1 innings. Freshman pitcher Jacob Schroeder is 0-0, 18.00 in three games, with no strikeouts in three innings.

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:

VICTORIA: Here's the latest edition of the HarbourCats Baseball Blog, which concentrates on the team's Canadian players.

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


TGIF!

April 12, 2013

Yes, it's a TGIF here at the world-wide headquarters of the Corvallis Knights.

And better yet, it's a TGIF before a holiday weekend, a TGIF before a home football game, and a TGIF before a week of vacation. That's a triple crown in my book.

So now you know why the blog might be abbreviated again today. We're champing at the bit to start the weekend, and, to tell the truth, late August/September might be the slowest time of the year for the Knights and for the West Coast League.

But we always have some news, and today is no exception. So let's get started.

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A couple alums moves to announce:

* Miami has sent outfielder Alex Burg 2008) to Jacksonville in the double-A Southern League. He hit .300 in a short stint with triple-A New Orleans before being reassigned.

* Boston has sent pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10) to Greenville of the low-A South Atlantic League after a stay at Salem in the high-A Carolina League. Kraus also pitched for double-A Portland (Eastern league) this summer, so it seems as if he's sent wherever pitching help is needed.

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We update the stats of our minor league alums on Fridays and some things jumped out at us today.

* Pitcher Trevor Frank (2012)of Mahoning Valley (A New York-Penn, Indians) has 39 strikeouts and just one walk in 33 innings.

* Pitcher Chris Johnson (2011) of Salem-Keizer (A Northwest, Giants) has 73 strikeouts and only seven walks in 78 innings.

* Kraus has 33 strikeouts and just four walks in 31.1 innings at Greenville, and just 18 walks in more than 80 innings overall this summer.

* Shortstop Matt Duffy (2010) of San Jose (A California, Giants) has five homers in just 99 at-bats.

* Catcher Bo Altobelli (2010) of Cedar Rapids (A Midwest, Twins) is hitting .333 (20-60) at low-A after hitting just .247 in rookie ball.

* First baseman Danny Hayes (2010) of Great Falls (R Pioneer, White Sox) has 47 RBIs in 50 games. He's fourth in the league despite playing at least seven fewer games than those in front of him due to Oregon State's extended run through the College World Series.

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s every TO DOUBLE-a


Intern Davis Head pitches no-hitter for OSU club team

April 11, 2013

OK, you know we love to brag about the accomplishments of our interns.

Well, we've to more to crow about this morning. Davis Head, one of our 2013 Oregon State College of Business interns, pitched a no-hitter for the OSU club team in a 10-0 victory over Seattle University this past Saturday at Goss Stadium, and was named the National Club Baseball Association's National Pitcher of the Week.

Davis struck out two and walked one in the five-inning gem. A sophomore business marketing major with a Spanish minor, he's a sophomore from Ukiah, Calif., who graduated from Ukiah High School in 2011. He played baseball at UHS, is the president-elect and secretary of the OSU Club Baseball Team, and is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

So, congrats to Davis! Here's a link to the NCBA's website.

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First baseman Dean Green (2008) of the Lakeland Flying Tigers was 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI in a 7-6 loss to Brevard County on Wednesday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Lakeland is Detroit's affiliate in the high-A Florida State league.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Clinton (A Midwest, Mariners) first baseman Taylor Ard (2009) was 1-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs in a 10-4 win over Kane County.

* Greensboro (A South Atlantic, Marlins) pitcher Scott Lyman (2010) allowed five hits and one run in five innings and got a no-decision in a 3-2 loss to Rome. He had four strikeouts.

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We're a day late, but here's another edition of the Knights Top 10.

Today's list highlights Knights' president Dan Segel's picks of the Top 10 players who the Knights signed, but who never played for us because they turned pro, or were injured, or just never made it to Aloha/Corvallis for some reason or another. We'll list the players in alphabetical order, with the year they were supposed to play for the Knights in parenthesis, and their career highlights.

NIC CUCKOVICH (2011): The infielder from Riverside City College signed with Kansas City instead. He's now playing for Lexington (Ky.) in the Class A South Atlantic League.

NICK HAUGHIAN (2008): The Washington lefty signed with Baltimore instead and played five years in its minor-league organization before retiring in 2012.

JOHNNY HEE (2007): The infielder from Hawaii was ticketed for our first Corvallis club but couldn't play because of injury. He's now with Pawtucket, Boston's affiliate in the triple-A International League.

CARSON KELLY (2012): The Westview High star, the 2012 Oregon 6A Player of Year, signed with St. Louis after being drafted in the second round. He played at Johnson City in the Appalachian League (rookie) last summer and has not yet been assigned a 2013 club.

JOE KELLY (2007): The UC Riverside pitcher was selected for Team USA after signing with the Knights. He's now with the St. Louis Cardinals.

THOMAS NEAL (2006): The outfielder from Riverside CC signed with San Francisco instead of joining the Knights. He made it to the majors with Cleveland in 2012 and is now in the Yankees organization.

JASON OGATA (2008): The Oregon State infielder signed with the Rangers instead and spent several years in their farm system before retiring.

DAVID ROBERTSON (2006): The pitcher from Alabama was seriously considering the Knights but ended up pitching in the Cape Cod League at the last minute and went there instead. He's now with the New York Yankees.

ALEX SILVER (2012): The Texas infielder had knee surgery after the 2012 college season instead of coming to Corvallis. He's hitting .286 for the Longhorns this spring.

KYLE SMITH (2009): The Cal Poly shortstop signed with Cleveland instead and is now with Columbus in the triple-A International League.

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

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Here is some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

WALLA WALLA: The Sweets will host their fourth annual first pitch event, kicking off the start of the season, from 6-7:30 p.m. on May 2 at the Columbia REA Community Room. Food and drink will be available; new play-by-play broadcaster Howard Hoffman will emcee the event. Click here for more information.

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


Wednesday already?

April 10, 2013

Wow, Wednesday already? We're halfway through the week!

The calendar on the wall tells me we're just 55 days away from our June 4 season opener against the Portland Lobos on Science and Art Day at Goss Stadium. That's less than eight weeks, if my math skills haven't totally eroded since my freshman year at the University of Richmond, the last time I took a math class.

So, got tickets? Got punch cards? Got your official Knights game-worm gray jersey, no on sale at the WWHQ for just $40? Got your Knights' cap, and other Knights merchandise? If not, come see us in the Madison Plaza in beautiful downtown CorVegas and we'll set you up.

Now, on with the news.

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Tuesday's a busy day in college baseball and there were lots of alums and future Knights in action for their respective teams. Here's a roundup (all players 2013 unless otherwise noted):

* Reliever Jimmie Sherfy (2011) got the save with a scoreless inning and outfielder Connor Hofmann (2011-12) was 0-for-3 with an RBI in Oregon's 6-3 win over Oregon State at Goss Stadium. Taylor Starr (2008, 2012) allowed three runs in three innings, Brandon Jackson (2012) allowed one run in 2.1 innings and got the loss, Danny Hayes (2009) was 0-for-3 and Jake Rodriguez (2009) was 0-for-2 with an RBI for the Beavers.

* UC Irvine shortstop Chris Rabago (2012-13) hit his first career homer and was 3-for-6 with three runs and two RBIs in an 11-3 win over San Diego. Pitcher Evan Brock (2010) had four strikeouts and allowed one run in 2.1 relief innings. USD outfielder Grant Melker was a defensive replacement and did not have an at-bat.

* Central Washington first baseman Scott Stone was a combined 2-for-5 with a run in a doubleheader sweep of Northwest Nazarine.

* Cal Poly shortstop Peter Van Gansen was 3-for-3 with two RBIs, DH Brian Mundell was 0-for-3 with a run and pitcher Casey Bloomquist earned his first college win with six innings of two-hit ball in a 5-2 victory over Cal State-Bakersfield. Bloomquist allowed two runs and had five strikeouts. Jimmy Allen (2011) was 1-for-5, Nick Torres (2012) was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs and David Armendariz (2011) was 0-for-2 for the Mustangs.

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Pitcher Kyle Kraus (2009-10), a two-time all-West Coast League selection, earned his first save in Greenville's 5-3 win over Hickory to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Greenville is Boston's affiliate in the Class A South Atlantic League.

Honorable mention goes to:

* San Jose (A California, Giants) pitcher Josh Osich (2008) closed a 5-2 win over Bakersfield with two innings of relief. He allowed one unearned run and struck out three.

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Not sure how many of you saw this yesterday, but here's a story on 2013 Knights' pitcher Chris Bishop of Pacific Lutheran by PLU senior Allison McDaniel, who will be our media intern this summer. It's a good read.

Look for more from Allison this summer, on the Knights Facebook, Twitter and (soon-to-be started by Allison!) Instagram. She's our second straight intern from PLU; Corvallis High grad Brenna Sussman filled that role last summer.

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Some news from elsewhere in the West Coast League:

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats have teamed with Wilson's Transportation, the team's Official Transportation Carrier, and Ambrosia Catering to deliver the "Wilson's Transportation Group Deck." The premium seating section will offer fans a selection of food items at all home games. Click here for more details.

WALLA WALLA: Here's the latest installment of "10 Things to Know About Sweets Baseball," a regular feature on the team's website.

WENATCHEE: The AppleSox need four more host families for the upcoming season, so if you know anyone in the Wenatchee area who may be interested, ask them to click here for more details.

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That's all for today. See you on Thursday. We'll have our weekly Knights' Top-10 list on Thursday.


Alex Burg signs with Fargo-Moorhead

April 9, 2013

Happy Tuesday, everyone. We always like to start off the day with good news, and we've got some to report this morning (other than the fact it's just 56 more days until our June 4 opener, of course).

Utility Alex Burg, a former Washington State star who was the MVP of our 2008 West Coast League championship club, has signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the independent American Association. Click here for the complete details.

Alex was recently released by the San Francisco Giants after spending three seasons in their minor-league organization. He also played for the Brooke Knight-coached Perth Heat in the Australian Baseball League in 2011-2012.

The RedHawks open their season at Winnipeg on May 6. Congrats to Alex!

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Alum Ben Wetzler (2011) of Oregon State was nominated for Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week, but was not selected. The junior lefty gave up one run in a season-high seven innings and was the winning pitcher in a 5-2 victory over UCLA on Sunday that enabled the Beavers to win the series.

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Shortstop Matt Duffy (2010), a Long Beach State alum now playing for Augusta in the Class A South Atlantic League, was 2-for-5 with two RBIs, a run and a double on Monday in a 6-5 win over Savannah to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Augusta is a San Francisco affiliate.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Richmond's (AA Eastern, Giants) Andrew Susac (2009), who was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in a 12-10 win over Bowie.

* Las Vegas (AAA PCL, Mets) pitcher Greg Peavey (2007), who allowed two hits in two scoreless innings of relief in a 4-3 win over Fresno. He had one strikeout.

* Reading's (AA Eastern, Phillies) Jim Murphy (2007), who was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in a 7-4 win over Portland.

* Wisconsin's (low A Midwest, Brewers) Mitch Haniger (2010), who was 2-for-4 with a double and a run in a 10-2 loss to Cedar Rapids.

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Several former and future Knights were in action on Monday for their respective college teams. Here's a roundup:

* Portland lost 2-1 to Gonzaga at home. Cody Lenahan (2013) was 1-for-4 with an RBI; Michael Lucarelli (2013) was 1-for-4; Caleb Whalen (2012) was 0-for-4; Beau Fraser (2012) was 1-for-4 with a double and Kramer Scott (2011) was 1-for-3 for the Pilots.

* Central Washington's Eddie Malone Jr. (2013) was a combined 1-for-4 with two runs and Scott Stone (2013) was 0-for-1 as the Wildcats split a doubleheader with Northwest Nazarene.

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It's Tuesday, so here is 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. All stats are through Monday's games.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Junior infielder Eddie Malone Jr. is hitting .321 (9-28) in 13 games, with six RBIs. Junior infielder Scott Stone is hitting .280 (7-25) in 13 games, with one homer and three RBIs.

CONCORDIA: Sophomore outfielder Blake Drake is hitting .369 (55-149) in 37 games, with 17 RBIs.

CORBAN: Sophomore infielder Marc Gallegos is hitting .393 (46-117) in 27 games, with a homer and 20 RBIs. He's been sidelined with a shoulder injury but should return to action next week.

DIXIE STATE: Sophomore infielder Kevin Kline is hitting .360 (32-89) in 28 games, with four homers and 28 RBIs.

GEORGE FOX: Junior pitcher Tom Zarosinski is 1-4, 4.47 in eight games, with 37 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Sean Eberhardt is 2-0, 4.35 in 11 games, with nine strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

GRAND CANYON: Sophomore pitcher Jorge Perez is 5-2, 2.97 in nine games, with 41 strikeouts in 57.2 innings. Freshman pitcher Andrew Naderer is 6-1, 2.41 in nine games, with 46 strikeouts in 52.1 innings.

MT. HOOD CC: Sophomore pitcher Eric Huson is 1-0, 2.60 in four games, with 17 strikeouts in 27.2 innings.

PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: Sophomore pitcher Kyle Treadway is 1-6, 3.77 in seven games, with 18 strikeouts in 43 innings.

PACIFIC LUTHERAN: Sophomore pitcher Chris Bishop is 1-3, 5.85 in 12 games, with two saves and 28 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Jake Otness is 1-1, 7.29 in 12 games, with 18 strikeouts in 21 innings.

TACOMA CC: Sophomore pitcher Brandon Choate, a Washington signee, is 0-1, 3.85 in five games, with two saves and 11 strikeouts in seven innings. Sophomore Chad Michaud is hitting .374 (13-35) in 10 games, with a homer and 11 RBIs as a catcher and is 0-0, 0.00 in three games as a pitcher, with a save and five strikeouts in three innings. 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:

BEND: The Elks have released their 2013 promotional schedule. We play there June 25-27.

KLAMATH FALLS: The Gems have signed infielder/outfielder Michael Livingston and right-handed pitcher DJ Milam of Cal State-Northridge for the 2013 season. For complete details, click here.

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


Back at the grind

April 8, 2013

It's a back-to-work Monday at the WWHQ on what's turning out to be a sunny morning in downtown CorVegas. Nice to see El Sol return after a wet and windy weekend.

Another great weekend for former/future Knights pitchers with the Beavers in Los Angeles during their 2-1 series win over UCLA. Matt Boyd (2010) pitched very well in a 3-2 defeat on Friday. Andrew Moore (2013) and Scott Schultz (2011) helped blank the Bruins 5-0 on Saturday, and Ben Wetzler (2011), Taylor Starr (2008, 2012) and Schultz combined to allow just one earned run in Sunday's 5-2 victory that won the series.

Great job, guys!

And with the passing of the weekend we're down to 57 more days until our June 4 nonconference season opener against the Portland Dukes on Science and Art Day at Goss Stadium. It will be here before you know it, so renew/buy those season tickets and get those 10-game punch cards before we run out.

Now, on to today's news.

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First, we've got some bad news to report, unfortunately. Dartmouth freshman center fielder Nick Ruppert was hit on the hand last week, suffered a broken bone and will be out for 4-6 weeks, until sometime in May. However, we expect he'll be ready (and probably very eager to go!) by the time our season starts.

Nick was having a great spring, as he'd started the first 16 games and was hitting .345 (19-55), with eight RBIs. Get better soon, and we'll see you in June.

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More bad news from the major league camps.

* Alum Thomas McCarthy (2010), a Corvallis native who played at Western Oregon, Feather River CC and Kentucky, was released by the Chicago White Sox. He hit .302 (45-149) in 41 games for Great Falls in the Pioneer League in 2012, with a homer and 18 RBIs.

* Alum Jared Prince (2006) of Washington State was released by Texas after four years in their farm system. He hit .234 (90-385) at double-A Frisco in the Texas League in 2012; for his career, he hit .266 in 414 games, with 34 homers and 221 RBIs.

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First baseman Jim Murphy of Washington State, our 2007 MVP who now plays for the Reading Fightin' Phils, was 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, an RBI and two runs in a 6-5 loss to New Hampshire on Sunday to earn Corvallis Knights Minor League Player of the Day honors. Reading is Philadelphia's affiliate in the double-A Eastern League.

Honorable mention goes to:

* Richmond's (AA Eastern, Giants) Andrew Susac (2009), who was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI in a 3-2 win over New Britain.

* San Antonio's (AA Texas, Padres) Matt Andriese (2009), who allowed two hits and no runs over five innings, with three strikeouts, in a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to Springfield.

* Lakeland's (high A Florida State, Tigers) Dean Green (2008), who was 2-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI in a 3-1 win over Tampa.

* Wisconsin's (low A Midwest, Brewers) Mitch Haniger (2010), who was 2-for-3 with a triple and a run in a 7-2 loss to Peoria.

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Alum Justin Viele (2009) of Santa Clara was nominated for the Rawlings West Coast Conference Player of the Month Award for March but was not selected. He's hitting .286 (32-112) in 29 games, with nine RBIs.

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Alum Tommy Hanson (2005), traded to the Los Angeles Angels from Atlanta in the offseason, won his American league debut on Saturday. Here are more details, from our website. Congrats to Tommy!

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Kelowna alum Chris Davis (2005) of the Baltimore Orioles set a major league record by having three or more RBIs in his team's first four games of the season. He also had homers in Baltimore's first four games, homered in 11 straight games dating back to the 2012 season, and set a MLB record with 16 RBIs in his first four games.

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It's a Monday, so here are updated 2013 stats for our 2013 Division I players:

CAL POLY: Freshman catcher/DH Brian Mundell is hitting .313 (30-96) with seven homers and 22 RBIs in 25 games. Freshman infielder Peter Van Gansen is hitting .306 (26-85) with no homers and five RBIs in 29 games. Freshman pitcher Casey Bloomquist is 0-0, 11.12 in two games, with eight strikeouts in 5.2 innings.

COLUMBIA: Sophomore outfielder Gus Craig is hitting .286 (4-14) in 14 games, with no homers and two RBIs.

DARTMOUTH: Freshman outfielder Nick Ruppert is hitting .345 (19-55) in 16 games, with eight RBIs. He is presently sidelined until early-to-mid May with a broken hand.

OREGON: Freshmen pitcher Jared Priestley is 0-0, 0.00 in two games, with one strikeout in two innings. Freshman pitcher Sam Johnson is 0-0, 4.50 in two games, with two strikeouts in two innings.

OREGON STATE: Freshman pitcher Andrew Moore is 6-1, 1.28 in eight appearances, with a save and 32 strikeouts in 49.1 innings. Freshman infielder Gabe Clark is hitting .167 (5-30) in 13 games, with four RBIs.

PORTLAND: Sophomore infielder Cody Lenahan is hitting .259 (29-112) in 30 games, with no homers and 11 RBIs. Sophomore infielder Michael Lucarelli is hitting .243 (17-70) in 27 games, with no homers and eight RBIs. Junior pitcher Colin Feldtman is 2-1, 2.05 in 22 innings over 12 appearances, with two saves and 14 strikeouts. Sophomore pitcher Kody Watts is 1-2, 9.00 in six games, with five strikeouts in 12 innings.

SAN DIEGO: Sophomore outfielder Grant Melker is hitting .000 (0-4) in 15 games, with two runs, no homers and no RBIs.

SAN JOSE STATE: Junior catcher Dane Lund is hitting .270 (10-37) with no homers and three RBIs in 16 games.

UC IRVINE: Utility man Chris Rabago is hitting .270 (27-100) in 28 games, with no homers and 10 RBIs. Freshman pitcher Elliot Surrey is 1-0, 5.06 in eight games, with nine strikeouts in 10.2 innings.

UC SANTA BARBARA: Freshman outfielder Joseph DeRoche-Duffin is hitting .167 (1-6) in five games, with no homers or RBIs. Freshman pitcher Dylan Hecht is 0-1, 1.86 in 15 games, with 25 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.

WASHINGTON: Freshman pitcher Alex Nesbitt is 0-0, 0.00 in one appearance, with a strikeout in .1 innings.

WASHINGTON STATE: Junior pitcher Kellen Camus is 3-0, 3.38 in 16 games, with two saves and 25 strikeouts in 19.1 innings. Freshman pitcher Jacob Schroeder is 0-0, 18.00 in three games, with no strikeouts in three innings.

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: The Elks have finalized their roster by signing five local players, including Kevin Hammon, a 2012 graduate of Summit High in Bend who was the 5A Pitcher of the Year as a senior. For more details, click here and then click the first item on the main menu.

VICTORIA: The HarbourCats have unveiled the 2013 All-Star Game official logo and sponsor. It will be played July 23 at Royal Athletic Park in that great Canadian city.

WENATCHEE: The AppleSox have signed Gonzaga University catcher Joey Harris and Portland outfielder Ryan Barr for the upcoming season. Both players are freshmen. Read all about it by clicking here.

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