Knights beat Elks 8-4. Corvallis retakes first place in the West.

John Wallace went 3 for 3 with a double and triple. The Knights rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to beat Bend 8-4 and move back into first place in the West.

The Knights' offense registered 11 hits including 6 extra base hits on a beautiful night at Goss Stadium.

Oregon State's Josh Osich threw five strong innings striking out five on his way to a no-decision.

"It was nice to see Josh get going," Knights' head coach Brooke Knight said. "He had some success so that was nice to see. As a team we are getting better at bats, maybe getting more used to wood."

In front of a crowd of 508, The Knights and Elks went to the bottom of the seventh tied 3-3. The tie didn't last for long as Corvallis plated 4 runs to go up 7-3.

Bend struck first scoring two in the top of the first only to have Corvallis pounce pack in the bottom of the frame.

OSU centerfielder John Wallace got things going with a stand-up triple to right with one out. After a ground out, frosh second baseman Davis Duren of Oklahoma State mashed a two-out double to right-center scoring Wallace. Soph outfielder Billy Clontz of Mt. Hood CC then followed with a double of his own, which hit midway up the leftfield wall, scoring Duren to tie the game at 2-2.

The Elks went up 3-2 in the fourth as Cade Hoggard of Mississippi State scored on a single to left by Washington's David Bentrott off Osich.

The Knights evened things again in the 5th. Knights' shortstop Josh Hogan of Mt. Hood CC reached on an error to lead-off the inning and after a strikeout, Wallace sliced a double to left-center scoring Hogie.

With the game square, Osich allowed the first two Elks he faced to reach base in the sixth. That's when Coach Knight summoned Liam Baron of Linn-Benton CC to replace the frosh OSU lefty from Boise, Idaho.

The Aussie southpaw squelched any notion of a rally by striking out the next two hitters with a runner on third and then getting a fly out to end the inning.

"It was a little different coming out of the pen," Baron said. "I knew I had to strike the first guy out, but striking out the first two made things easier. All my breaking balls have been good. To throw those after a guy throwing all fastballs in the mid-90s, I figure it is easier to junk it up and give them a pace they haven't seen."

Inspired by Baron's effort, Corvallis took control of the game in the 7th. With the bases loaded, rightfielder Logan Lotti, a junior to-be at Oregon State, was hit by a pitch giving the Knights' a 4-3 lead. Duren followed with a walk, plating the Knights' fifth run. Clontz then singled to left scoring two more runs.

Clontz went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI. He leads the team in RBI with 15.

"It seems we swing it late in the game," Knight said. "It was important to get those runs because Bend can really swing the bat."

In the eighth, the Knights tallied their 8th and final run as Hogan blooped a double to right and then scored on a single by Washington�s Doug Cherry.

Baron earned the win in relief, improving his record to 2-1. Liam has made 6 appearances and has posted a 1.74 ERA over 20 2/3 innings pitched.

Junior pitcher Anthony Carrillo of Long Beach State tossed the final two innings giving up one run.

"Liam is a competitor and got us out of a jam again," said Knight. "He comes in and has command of his pitches rather than trying to find command of his pitches on the mound."

Wallace, Clontz and Willamette University's Kyle Stalker led the way on offense for Corvallis. Stalker went 2 for 3 with a double and singled to lead-off the 7th to get the Knights' rally started.

Hogan scored 3 runs.

With the win, Corvallis improves to 11-7 overall and 10-6 in League. The Knights are now back in first place with a 10-6 record. Bend and Kitsap are in second place at 9-7.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Wednesday, July 2 at 6:35 pm.

You can listen to the entire homestand on 990 AM The Legend. Mike Parker, the voice of the Knights, calls all the action.