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Klamath Falls walks to key 10-7 win over Knights.

August 8, 2012

Klamath Falls walks to key 10-7 win over Knights.

Corvallis left fielder Nate Blackham (pictured), sidelined since July 25 with a calf contusion after being hit by pitch, returned to action and had two hits and two RBIs in the loss.

Center fielder Connor Hofmann had four singles and scored twice to raise his average to .318; he's hitting .550 (11-20) in his last six games. Nick Torres and Caleb Whalen added two hits and Barr drove in two runs.

But it wasn't nearly enough, as Klamath Falls took advantage of a season-high 11 walks by Corvallis pitchers. It had 21 baserunners on just eight base hits, thanks to Corvallis' inability to throw strikes.

Six of those who walked eventually scored, two on a two-out, third-strike wild pitch that capped a four-run seventh for the Gems. Corvallis (31-22 WCL, 36-22 overall) had rallied to within 6-5 by scoring four times in the top half, but the Gems matched that outburst to stay comfortably ahead.

The Gems (26-27 WCL) moved into second place in the West Division, one game ahead of Cowlitz (25-28), in their battle for the division's second playoff berth. Cowlitz lost 6-3 to Bend in 10 innings on Wednesday.

The Gems parlayed three walks from starter Antonio Gonzales into a 5-0 lead after three innings. Five more walks and the crucial wild pitch helped them scored the four seventh-inning runs.

Corvallis catcher/left fielder Dane Lund, hitting .467 in his last five games, missed his second game in row while attending orientation at San Jose State. He'll be back for Thursday�s regular-season finale against the Gems. Lefty Carlos Rodriguez (2-1, 3.52) of Oregon State will start for the Knights, opposed by righty Dalton Douty (2-2, 4.24) of UC Santa Barbara.

Cowlitz hosts Bend in the other regular-season finale of consequence. If the Gems win, or if Cowlitz and Klamath Falls each lose, the Gems take second place and the best-of-3 West Division playoffs series against the top-seeded Knights will start at Kiger Stadium on Friday night.

However, if Cowlitz wins and Klamath Falls loses, Cowlitz takes second on a tiebreaker and Game 1 will be at Longview, Wash., on Saturday.

Either way, Corvallis will host Game 2 at 6:05 p.m. Sunday and Game 3 (if necessary) at 6:40 p.m. Monday. The winner will play either East Division titlist Wenatchee or runner-up Bellingham in the WCL Championship Series, which starts Aug. 15 at the West Division team�s venue.