Pippins blank Knights 7-0, take series opener.

Yakima Valley pitcher Gavin Velasquez stymied Corvallis on four hits on Friday night and the Pippins prevailed 7-0 in the opener of their West Coast league series.

Oregon State teammates Kyle Nobach and Zak Taylor (pictured) each singled in the first two innings against Velasquez, who plays at Cal State-Fullerton. The Knights had two baserunners in scoring position and three overall in that span, but Velasquez then retired 19 in a row before Nick Kahle (Washington in 2016-17) singled with one out in the eighth.

Taylor went 1-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to four consecutive games. He is batting .462 (6-13) in that span, raising his average 51 points to .341.

Shortstop Andy Atwood (OSU) had the other hits for the Knights. He went 1-for-4 and remained atop the WCL batting race with a .363 average, six points ahead of future OSU teammate George Mendazona of Bend.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Knights (24-10 overall, 18-10 WCL, 0-1 second half). They were shut out for the fifth time this summer and for the first time at Goss Stadium.

It was also the second straight shutout against the Knights for the Pippins (3-1 second half, 18-13 all). They also blanked Corvallis 4-0 on July 5 at Yakima in the finale of the previous series between the South Division rivals.

Corvallis starter Ryley Widell pitched into the sixth, striking out seven, and left trailing 1-0 with two on and two out. The Pippins eventually scored three times in that inning, and added two more in the seventh in scoring the most runs of any opponent against Corvallis this summer.

The series continues at 6:40 p.m. Saturday. Craig Colen of Cal Poly (0-0, 0.00) will make his first start of the summer for the Knights, opposed by Jens Jensen (2-2, 3.31) of Lewis-Clark State for the Pippins.

The World Famous SD Chicken returns to Corvallis for the third time on Saturday. It is also an All-Family Vision Care $1,000 Kids Dash for Cash Night, presented by Best Heating and Cooling.

Sunday's 5:05 p.m. series finale is HOPE Night, presented by 107.9 FM. It is also a Lil' Knights Club game. Jacob Wong (2-0, 1.80) of Grand Canyon is the scheduled starter for the Knights, opposed by Ryan Garcia (2-3, 2.41, a UCLA signee.