Knights get Frank with Cowlitz in 8-2 blowout victory.

Trevor Frank of UC Riverside (pictured) pitched three-hit ball over seven innings and Corvallis moved to the cusp of playoff qualification by capturing the series opener.

Corvallis (27-21 WCL, 33-21 overall) maintained its 3.5-game lead over second-place Klamath Falls (23-24), which clobbered Bend 18-3. The Knights gained a game on third-place Cowlitz (23-25 WCL) and fourth-place Bend (21-26).

Cowlitz is four games behind, Bend 5.5. The Knights and Cowlitz have six games remaining; Klamath Falls and Bend each have seven left. The top two finishers in the division advance to the playoffs, which start Aug. 11.

Frank struck out six, walked one and hit another in his longest outing of the season. On a 65-pitch count until mid-July after a heavy workload this spring, he�s gone 6.2 and seven innings in his last two starts and allowed only one run.

"I'm really glad to be able to go more than five innings," Frank said. "My fastball and split-change were really working well."

Frank generally was in command except for the fourth and fifth innings, when he stranded two Black Bears with the Knights holding a 3-0 lead.

"It's huge for a pitcher (to escape trouble)," Frank said. "You just have to tell yourself that you're better than those guys, and go do it."

Shortstop Nate Roberts and catcher Chris Rabago each doubled and drove in two runs and Caleb Whalen homered to pace an offense aided by five Cowlitz errors. Dane Lund and Austin Barr had two hits each, but Nick Torres� hitting streak was snapped at six WCL games and eight games overall.

The Knights have won four of their last five WCL games since a 4-1, 11-inning loss to Klamath Falls on July 25 sliced their division lead to one game. They've scored 34 runs in that span as an offense dormant for much of the summer has suddenly come alive.

The 70's Night crowd of 1,297 raised the season count to 36,144 for 29 openings, the second-highest total in franchise history.

Game 2 of the series is Friday night. Lefty Greg Mahle (1-2, 5.06) will start for the Knights, opposed by righty Leko Galusha (2-3, 3.80). The Knights� regular-season home schedule concludes at 7:15 p.m. Saturday against Cowlitz on Pioneer Telephone Fireworks Night.