Knights edge Lobos 7-6 in season opener.

Blake Drake's (pictured) sacrifice fly scored the winning run in the eighth inning as the Knights edged the Portland Lobos 7-6 on Tuesday in their season opener.

A junior-to-be at Concordia University, Drake singled twice, doubled, stole two bases and drove in three runs. George Fox junior-to-be Sean Eberhardt went three scoreless, hitless innings and had three strikeouts to get the win.

"I had lots of fun, it was a great new experience," said Drake, who led the Cavaliers to the NAIA West Regional this past spring. "It was exciting and nerve-wracking."

Second baseman Stephen Nogosek, an Oregon signee from Woodcreek High School in Roseville, Calif. added two singles, a double and two RBIs. Kevin Kline of Dixie State had two hits and scored the winning run; Nate Blackham (Washington State) added two hits, three runs and two steals.

Kline started the winning rally with a one-out walk in the eighth. He moved to third on two wild pitches and hustled home on Drake's foul sacrifice fly to medium-deep right field.

"In the eighth, we had a guy on third and I knew I had to get something to the right side," Drake said. "They brought the infield in so I knew I had to hit it hard to get it to the outfield."

Knights' starter Kyle Treadway (Pacific University) went three scoreless innings and left with a 1-0 advantage. The Lobos scored four times in the sixth to go ahead 6-5, but Blackham scored from second on Drake�s infield single in the home sixth for a 6-6 tie.

The Science and Art Day crowd of 2,278 included more than 1,700 area elementary school students and was a franchise-record for a non-Fireworks Night game

Corvallis opens West Coast League play at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at Wenatchee. It's a rematch of the 2012 WCL Championship Series, won by the AppleSox 2-1. University of Portland junior Colin Feldtman is the scheduled starter for Corvallis.

The Knights then play at Cowlitz on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Their WCL home opener is set for 6:35 p.m. June 12 against the Kitsap BlueJackets.