Johnson shines but AppleSox take series opener, 2-1.

Chase Johnson (pictured) pitched six scoreless innings in a rematch with Wenatchee, but the Sox broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth to beat the Knights.

A two-out, pinch-hit single by Andrew Daniel off reliever Ben Wetzler drove in Pat Valaika with the winning run. Valaika led off the ninth with a single off Scott Schultz and advanced to third on a sacrifice and a fielder's choice.

Wetzler relieved his Oregon State teammate at that point, and Daniel pinch-hit for Eric Filia-Snyder. The move paid off as Wetzler deflected, but could not snag, Daniel's liner up the middle and Valaika scored the decisive run.

The game drew 1,249 fans to Goss Stadium, the Knights' seventh crowd of 1,000 or more in 10 home dates.

Wenatchee (19-3 WCL) won for the 19th time in its last 21 starts to maintain an 11.5-game lead in the East Division. The AppleSox have also won three in a row over the Knights (14-8, 13-8 WCL); they took the final two of a three-game series at Wenatchee on June 20-22.

One of those wins came at the expense of Johnson, a sophomore-to-be at Cal Poly who allowed seven runs in 3.1 innings in an 11-6 loss on June 22. In the rematch, however, he spaced five hits over six innings and lowered his ERA from 14.54 to 6.10.

Johnson struck out two, walked two, and got 10 outs on ground balls. Relievers Kyle Hart and Schultz allowed a run in the seventh and ninth, respectively, and Schultz's record evened at 1-1.

The Knights had just five hits and remained mired in an offensive funk. They've scored just one run in three of their last four games and have not driven in a run with a base hit during that span.

Wenatchee took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh on a two-out RBI double by Filia-Snyder. It scored OSU outfielder Ryan Barnes, who'd greeted Hart with a leadoff single.

The Knights responded in the home half by loading the bases with no outs on walks to Sean Myrom and Connor Hofmann, sandwiched around Corey Davis' bunt single. Corey Moore struck out but Trent Oleszczuk hit a game-tying sacrifice fly to center field.

Corvallis stranded eight runners, six in scoring position, and the loss snapped the Knights� seven-game home winning streak and six-game WCL winning streak. They hadn�t been beaten at Goss Stadium since a 7-4 setback to Klamath Falls on June 8.

The series resumes at 6:40 p.m. Friday with a matchup of OSU pitchers, freshman righty Cole Baylis (0-0, 4.50) for the AppleSox and lefty freshman-to-be Jace Fry (0-1, 0.96) for the Knights.

It's Cowbell Night, presented by Linn-Benton Tractor; the first 500 fans receive free cowbells. Saturday's 6:40 p.m. series finale is Pioneer Telephone Military Appreciation Night, sponsored by KRKT.

The homestand concludes at 7:15 p.m. Sunday with the annual OSU Federal Credit Union Fireworks Night game against Bend. A very limited number of reserved seats remain, but general admission tickets are still available at the Knights' offices in Madison Plaza in downtown Corvallis.