Devon Barker just misses no-no in 1-0 masterpiece.

Lefty Devon Barker (pictured) lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth on Sunday but the Knights ended a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 victory over Cowlitz at Story Field.

Normally a reliever who was the team's top closer in 2012, Barker had a no-hitter until Kyle Knigge singled cleanly to left field. That ended Barker�s bid to become the second Corvallis (3-3, 2-3 WCL) pitcher to no-hit the Black Bears (3-2 WCL) in the past 10 months; Greg Mahle did it at Goss Stadium last Aug. 3.

An apparent infield single by Knigge with two outs in the sixth was changed shortly thereafter to an error by the official scorer. So Barker was on the verge of the second nine-inning no-hitter in franchise history when he fanned Ryan Aquilar and Derrick Salberg to start the ninth. However, Knigge singled cleanly on a fastball on the first pitch of his at-bat.

Barker struck out eight, walked three, threw 73 strikes in 120 pitches and faced 30 batters, just four over the minimum when he was relieved by Jorge Perez after Knigge's hit. Perez promptly retired Kyle Leady on a popper to second to end the game in a brisk one hour, 52 minutes.

The Knights scored the only run of the game in the third inning on a triple by Nick Ruppert and a groundout by Mike Lucarelli. It was the first hit of the summer for Ruppert, a freshman center fielder from Dartmouth who joined the club on Saturday. He missed the final 2/3 of the spring season with a broken wrist after hitting .345 in his first 16 college games.

First baseman Kevin Kline went 3-for-4 with a double for the Knights.

The series concludes at 12:05 p.m. Monday. The Knights begin their WCL home season at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday against the Kitsap BlueJackets at Goss Stadium on Big League Chew Opening Night, presented by AmeriTrade. It's the first of a six-game homestand that also features a return three-game series against Cowlitz.