Knights fall to Gems 3-2 in 12-inning marathon.

Corvallis pitcher Elliot Surrey (pictured) allowed one run in five innings in his first start and longest stint of the summer but the Knights fell 3-2 to Klamath Falls in 12 innings on Friday night.

A reliever as a freshman at UC Irvine, Surrey allowed six hits, struck out three and left the game with a 2-1 lead after throwing 46 strikes in 66 pitches. He logged just 13.2 innings in 11 appearances for the Anteaters this spring.

"It was a good opportunity," said Surrey, who got a win with three scoreless innings against Cowlitz on June 15 in his only previous appearance. "I perfer starting over relieving.

"It means more to me, and it means they trust me more to go long into the game. It gives me confidence. I hope this summer I can work on some things, tweak some things and next year go (to Irvine), become a starter and do the best I can."

It was a game of missed opportunities for the Knights (9-8 overall, 8-8 WCL). They scored single runs in the second and third innings, and then left nine runners on base over the final nine innings. They had runners in scoring position in every inning from the fourth through the 10th but they could not get the big hit or productive out to get a runner home.

Corvallis scored in the second on a single by Kevin Kline, two wild pitches and a ground out by Cody Lenahan. Chris Rabago led off the third with a triple and scored on Seth Heck's sacrifice fly for its other run.

Klamath Falls (9-4 WCL) tied the game off reliever Chris Bishop in the seventh. Brandon Choate pitched a scoreless ninth, 10th and 11th; Klamath Falls scored in the 12th on a walk, a steal and an RBI sisngle off reliever Dylan Hecht.

First baseman Gabe Clark of Oregon State joined the Knights on Friday after becoming eligible for summer ball with the Beavers' elimination from the College World Series that afternoon. He went 0-for-3.

The Knights are now 0-3 in extra-inning games this season. They lost 3-2 in 14 innings at Wenatchee on June 5 and 5-4 to the AppleSox in 10 innings on June 7 in their other extra-inning contests.

Game 2 of the series is set for 6:40 p.m. Saturday on ZOOperstars! Night. Righty Colin Feldtman (0-1, 4.09) of Portland is the Knights' scheduled starter.