Knights Seek Fifth Consecutive WCL West Title.

Coach Knight Points to Pitching and Team Speed as Strengths

The Corvallis Knights begin their quest for their fifth consecutive West Division title on Friday, June 3, when they travel to Walla Walla for their 2011 opener against the Sweets.

It's the first game in what should be an exciting summer for the Knights, who start their 30-game home schedule on June 7th versus the expansion Klamath Falls Gems at Goss Stadium.

Fourth-year coach Brooke Knight expects the Knights will feature strong leadership from veteran returnees, a strong pitching staff, and more team speed and depth than his previous teams.

"I'm confident we will be a very competitive club," said Knight, who enters his fourth season as coach with a 100-38 (.725) WCL record and an equally-outstanding 125-48 (.723) overall mark.

Ex-Knights star Billy Clontz returns for his second season as an assistant coach and ex-Washington State standout pitcher Connor Lambert makes his WCL debut as the pitching coach.

"Playing on the road early will help the team bond that much quicker. On paper, we may have one of our strongest teams right out of the chute," thanks to a host of solid 10-game signees.

"Our returning players will set a positive example and show our newcomers how we operate and what Corvallis Knights baseball is all about."

Two returnees will be three-year Knights, pitchers Eric Young (Delaware) and Nick Hoover (UC Irvine) are back for their third seasons; Young was Delaware's No. 1 starter for much of the season.

Junior catcher Corey Davis (Wright State), junior outfielder/pitcher Michael Blake (Hawaii), frosh outfielder David Andriese (UC Riverside), frosh infielder JK Dykes (Washington State) and sophomore pitchers Max Beatty (Pacific Lutheran), Chris Mendoza (Santa Clara) and Mitch Patito (UC Riverside) also return for a second season.

Davis quickly earned the Raiders' starting catching job and hit .317 with 8 HR and 40 RBI in the regular season to lead Wright State to an NCAA Regional. Corey was a first-team All-Horizon League selection and was named Horizon League Newcomer of the Year.

Blake finished third in the WCL in hitting last summer (.344).

In his first collegiate season, redshirt frosh David Andriese was a mainstay in the middle of the Highlanders' order hitting .304 with 4 HR and 29 RBI.

Coach Knight will look to Davis and Andriese to lead the Knights' offense.

Feather River College sophomore catcher Jaret Bogue and sophomore outfielder Dayton Alexander, who has signed with University of Washington; and frosh utility player Jimmy Allen of Cal Poly are three newcomers that Coach Knight believes will make their mark both offensively and defensively.

Bogue hit .437 with 49 RBI and was named Golden Valley Conference Player of the Year. Alexander hit .382 and was a first-team All-Golden Valley selection. And Allen emerged as a starter in the outfield for the Mustangs and finished strong, batting .265 with 11 doubles.

Frosh outfielders Nate Blackham (.400, 4 SB) of Washington State and Connor Hofmann of Oregon, and junior second baseman Corey Moore of Pacific Lutheran (.306, 11 SB) can all fly. Blackham broke into the starting lineup late in the season and finished the season with a 4-hit game at USC; Moore earned second-team All-Northwest Conference honors; and Hofmann was selected in the 16th round of the 2010 MLB draft by San Diego.

"Blackham can flat-out fly and Moore is very quick as well," with 11 steals in 14 attempts. "We've had guys who could run before but we've never had so many kids with plus-speed."

On the mound, the team is excited about its young pitching. Freshman Dylan Stuart (1-1, 1.82, 17 appearances) was UC Riverside's top situational reliever; frosh Chase Johnson (2-5, 3.67) was Cal Poly's Sunday starter early; sophomore Chris Johnson of University of Portland posted a team-low ERA of 3.56 over 14 starts for the Pilots; and freshmen Scott Schultz (3-0, 2.82) and Ben Wetzler (pictured) combined for nine wins at Oregon State, giving first-year pitching coach Connor Lambert of Washington State plenty of material to work with.

"Connor is a rising star," Knight said. "It doesn't take long to figure out he might have the 'it' factor. He still has a lot to learn, and some exciting challenges ahead of him, but he's ready to take on this endeavor.

"He commands instant respect from his peers his same age, which speaks volumes about the type of guy he is and what he brings to the table. I am excited for our entire organization that Connor has chosen to be part of our 2011 family."

Returnees Young (5-2, 4.00, 13 starts), Hoover (2-4, 3.69, 20 appearances), Patito (6 saves), Mendoza (3-6, 5.62) and Beatty (5-4, 3.75) are expected to be key contributors.

Coach Knight is thrilled about the recent signing of frosh right-hander Adam Duke of Oregon State.

"Duke has the potential to be our No. 1 starter," said Knight. "He's got an above average curveball and will do well in this league."

Duke's Spanish Fork High School teammate Tyler Duffin of College of Southern Idaho, a sophomore who has committed to Lewis-Clark State, and redshirt sophomore Mark Trentacosta of UC Irvine are southpaws Coach Knight is counting on to not only get left-handers out, but as candidates to close and start.

The staff is rounded out by right-handers frosh Kyle McNutt of Riverside CC, frosh Jimmie Sherfy of Oregon, frosh Tom Zarosinki of OSU, frosh Sebastian Santos of UC Irvine, frosh Justin Hepner of San Diego State, sophomore Matt Pechmann of Mt. Hood CC and junior Kyle Hart of Redlands.

Defensively, the Knights' projected starting first baseman is David Armendariz of Cal Poly. Shortstop is JK Dykes' and Riverside CC sophomore Nic Cuckovich's to win, while third base will be manned by Jimmy Allen and 2010 WCL RBI leader Nate Roberts.

Roberts, a sophomore at Seattle University, played for Moses Lake last summer and collected a league-leading 35 RBI. Moore, Dykes, Cuckovich and Roberts can all play second base. The outfield will feature speedsters Blackham, Alexander and Hofmann with Andriese and Blake best suited for corner outfield positions. Armendariz and Allen can also play outfield.

To review the complete roster, please click here.

The Knights will host the revived WCL All-Star Game on July 26. Sponsored by PEAK Internet, it will also feature a pre-game Home Run Derby and a post-game fireworks display. Other top attractions are the annual July 3 Fireworks Night; a July 22 return of the ZOOperstars! and the first Corvallis appearance by the World Famous San Diego Chicken, on July 16.

Did you know...

- Brooke Knight is the WCL's winningest coach over the past three seasons, with 100 league victories. Wenatchee's Ed Knaggs is second with 88. Knight was the WCL Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

- The Knights have captured four consecutive West Division regular-season titles. They are the only club from that division to make the playoffs in each of the past four years.

- The Knights have a winning record against every active or defunct WCL franchise since the league's 2005 inception. They are 25-15 vs. Bellingham; 30-12 vs. Bend; 6-0 vs. Cowlitz; 24-9 vs. Kelowna; 32-11 vs. Kitsap; 21-6 vs. Moses Lake; 19-8 vs. Spokane; 17-16 vs. Wenatchee, and 4-2 vs. Walla Walla. They have not played Klamath Falls, which joins the league for the 2011 season.

- Corvallis advanced to the best-of-3 WCL Championship Series in 2007, 2008 and 2009. It defeated Wenatchee in 2008, and lost to Moses Lake in 2007 and to Wenatchee in 2009. All three series were sweeps.

- Total and per-game attendance has increase every year. The Knights drew 12,729 fans in 2007; 17,929 fans in 2008; 30,064 fans in 2009 and 30,888 fans in 2010. The average crowd has increased from 439 in 2007 to 640 in 2008, to 911 in 2009 and to 996 in 2010.

- All games will be broadcast on KEJO-AM 1240. Award-winning Oregon State football, men's basketball and baseball play-by-play broadcaster Mike Parker is the voice of the Knights.