Knights Face Bend Elks in Season Opener at Goss Stadium.

Team Strength is Expected to be Pitching and Defense

The Corvallis Knights kick-off their third campaign in the Mid-Valley and look to defend its West Coast League crown by relying on a long-time club strength - pitching and defense. The Knights led the West Coast League last summer in team defense (.974 fielding percentage) and ERA (2.32).

2008 West Coast League Coach of the Year Brooke Knight returns to guide the Knights and is counting on his pitching and defense and eight returning players to make a run at repeating as league champions in 2009.

The pitching staff, under the direction of new pitching coach Ryan Heil of Riverside CC, features Freshman All-American Sam Gaviglio (10-1, 2.73) of Oregon State. The right-hander from Ashland, Oregon set a new freshman wins record at OSU with 10. Joining Gaviglio on the staff is fellow Beaver hard throwing right-hander James Nygren (2-0, 4.45, 18 appearances). The sophomore from Klamath Falls will move from the bullpen this spring to the Knights' starting rotation this summer.

West Coast Conference all-freshman team selection Kyle Kraus (pictured) of University of Portland gets the opening night start for Coach Knight. The right-hander from West Linn, Oregon went 4-6 with a 4.00 ERA over 15 appearances and 11 starts this past spring for the Pilots. The starter for game two of the Knights' home opening series vs. Bend is All-NWAACC right-hander Nick Struck of Mt. Hood CC. Struck went 9-0 while posting a 1.17 ERA for the Saints and is headed to University of Hawaii this fall.

Returning starters from last summer sophomore southpaw Liam Baron of Linn-Benton and soph Eddie Orozco of UC Riverside will compete this season for spots in the rotation. Orozco was second-team All-West Coast League last year and Baron went 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA for the Knights.

Other likely starting candidates are frosh Matt Andriese of UC Riverside, sophomore southpaw Ben Guidos of University of Washington and frosh Uriah Fisher of Oklahoma State. Andriese made 8 starts this spring for the Highlanders going 5-4 with a 3.93 ERA over 14 appearances and 66 1/3 innings pitched. Matt was selected in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB draft by Texas.

Reliever Dustin Emmons of UC Riverside could be Coach Knight's choice as the Corvallis closer. The sophomore was named second-team All-Big West and led UCR in appearances with 23 while posting a team-low 2.80 ERA this past spring. Emmons also held the opposition to a Highlander-low .219 batting average. Recent sign junior Steve Kalush of Santa Clara closed for the Broncos and adds more depth to the staff that also includes junior college sophomore pitchers Dylan Jones (6-2, 2.94) of Mt. Hood CC and Trevor Smith of Linn-Benton CC.

"I like our pitching going into this, we have some depth and versatility," said Coach Knight. "We like the makeup of these kids. We have a group of bulldogs coming in."

Catching the staff are sophomore Matt Parker of San Diego State and future Oregon State Beaver Andrew Susac of Jesuit High School in Sacramento, California. Parker is an experienced backstop who had the fortune of catching all-everything and likely #1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg this spring. Susac is a heralded high school cather who was rated the #112 prospect in Baseball America's draft preview issue. Susac is known for his quick release and strong arm. Sophomore Tommy Whalen of Concordia is the team's third catcher. Whalen hit .333 with 8 home runs this season for the NAIA school from Portland, Oregon.

The infield is anchored by returnees junior Doug Cherry of University of Washington, junior Josh Hogan of University of Oregon and sophomore Richie Jimenez of Riverside CC. All three were second-team All-West Coast League selections last season. Hogan started at second base for the Ducks this past spring. Jimenez earned second-team All-Orange Empire honors while leading the Tigers in hitting with a .347 batting average. Cherry (.257, 3, 17) battled an ankle injury for much of the spring, but started when healthy for the Huskies. Coach Knight is excited to add Carter Bell (.294) of Oregon State to the infield mix and expects the frosh from Courtenay, British Columbia to make starts at third, short and second. Second-team All-Big West shortstop Kyle Smith of Cal Poly is also a new addition to the Knights infield. The junior from Visalia, California hit .335 during the regular season with 16 doubles, five home runs, 40 RBI and 12 stolen bases.

"Our middle infield, and defense in general, is this club's strong suit," said Knight. "I'm confident we will play great defense, which is exciting to me."

First base will be manned by Mt. Hood CC teammates sophomore DJ Johnson and frosh Taylor Ard. Johnson (.324, 5, 26), a left-handed hitting slugger, returns for a second season with the Knights. Ard (.496, 11, 45), the 2009 NWAAC Player of the Year, was a recent sign of both the Knights and Oregon State University.

The Knights outfield is fast and should cover lots of ground. Juniors Adam Melker (.282, 16 doubles) of Cal Poly and Billy Clontz (.357, 3, 21) of Western Oregon return. They are joined by junior San Diego State outfielder Pat Colwell, frosh Brent Warren of Oregon State and sophomore John Desmarais of Washington State. Colwell (.300, 8 stolen bases) led the Aztecs in at bats with 240. Warren and Desmarais are eager to get things going as Warren saw limited action this spring and Desmarais had his spring season cut short due to a hand injury. Both are left-handed hitters who run very well.

"Our team is built around pitching, defense and speed this year," said the Knights' skipper Brooke Knight. "We are going to be an aggressive offense that will put pressure on the opposition with our team speed, and we hope our defense and pitching is as good as we think it is.

"We're really excited about the kids we have coming in this summer. The makeup is excellent and if we throw strikes and put the ball in play, we could be pretty darn good.

"We have high expectations and are chomping at the bit to play some baseball and defend our title."