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Perez's 2-hit masterpiece wins title for Knights.

August 19, 2013

Perez's 2-hit masterpiece wins title for Knights.

Jorge Perez (pictured) of Grand Canyon pitched a masterful two-hit shutout and Corvallis claimed its third West Coast League championship on Monday with a 1-0 win over the Wenatchee AppleSox.

The Knights (46-17) swept the best-of-3 WCL Championship Series 2-0, and avenged a 2-1 loss to the AppleSox (33-27) in the 2012 finals. Corvallis also won Saturday night's opener, 3-1.

A rising junior-to-be at Grand Canyon University, Perez struck out seven, did not have a walk, and allowed just one runner to reach third base in a brilliant, one-hour, 28-minute performance. He outdueled Wenatchee's Trevor Lubking of Pacific Lutheran, who was equally outstanding and also allowed just two hits.

"I don't have any words right now," Perez said. "It's been a fun summer, good group of guys, good coaches ... I'm so excited, I'm ready to get that ring.

"I feel fine," added Perez, who also won the Knights' playoff opener at Medford on Aug. 13. "Adrenaline was kicking in toward the end but that's what it takes. It takes big plays and big pitches to win ballgames."

He threw 104 pitches, 68 for strikes, in the team's second complete game of the summer. Perez finished 3-1 with a sparkling 1.25 ERA, and six saves. He was the closer early in the season while on a pitch count after a heavy workload at GCU this spring.

"He's a bulldog," Knights' coach Brooke Kniight said of Perez. "He loves to compete. I felt bad for him because he had to wait 48 hours to get back out there," after Saturday's series-opening win.

"He was chomping at the bit. It was just a matter of settling the nerves a a little bit early."

Perez's performance on Monday, and on Aug. 13 in a victory at Medford in the opening game of the South Division playoffs, earned him West Coast League Player of the Week honors. He was 2-0 in the postseason, with a 1.17 ERA and 11 strikeouts and only one walk in 15.1 innings.

The Knights scored the only run of the game in the fourth inning. Center fielder Blake Drake of Concordia led off with a double down the left-field line that was just fair. Peter Van Gansen of Cal Poly then sacrificed him to third and he scored on Dane Lund's sacrifice fly to center field.

Corvallis had only one other baserunner against Lubking. Gabe Clark singled with one out in the eighth, but he was picked off. Lubking struck out four, did not issue a walk, and faced just one batter over the eight-inning minimum.

But it wasn't good enough on this night, as the Knights won their 14th game in a row to end the season and their 33rd in their last 38 starts. The Knights won their final 21 home games and were 30-4 at Goss Stadium overall.

Wenatchee had just three baserunners. Eric Hutting reached on an error in the third inning but was stranded at second. Connor Spencer of UC Irvine, the Sox leading hitter, singled with two outs in the fourth but did not advance.

Wenatchee's biggest threat came in the eighth. A leaping catch of Joey Jansen's line drive by third baseman Cody Lenahan prevented a leadoff double, but Hutting ripped a double to the right-center gap and reached third when Drake fumbled with the ball.

However, Joey Harris missed a sucide squeeze bunt on a 3-1 pitch and Hutting was retired 2-5-2, with catcher Chris Rabago of UC Irvine making the tag. Harris then grounded out to end the inning.

In the ninth, Perez struck out Nate Steffler, retired Brett Stephens on a grounder to first and then fanned Grant Palmer on a third strike in the dirt. Rabago's throw to first was perfect to record the out, and the Knights dogpiled on Perez on the mound.

"This was an outstanding group," said Knight, who has now has won championships in 2008, 2011 and 2013. "It was as invested as any team I've had in my six years as coach. We wanted to get 'er done, and we got 'er did."

The crowd of 1,224 raised the season attendance to a franchise-record 43,529 in 33 openings for a per game average of 1,319. The old mark of 42,447 was set in 2011.