Knights extend West lead with 8-0 win at Cowlitz.

Corvallis pitcher Chris Johnson (pictured) of Portland extended his scoreless streak to 16 innings in a row in an 8-0 victory over the Black Bears at Story Field. Johnson (4-0) struck out six, walked one and the only hit he allowed in five innings was an infield single.

He threw 44 strikes in 65 pitches. Johnson's scoreless streak has encompassed his last three starts, all Knights' victories, and has lowered his ERA to 2.10.

The Knights (28-14, 26-14 WCL) scored five times in the second inning to break the game open. Ryan Gorton's two-run single capped a rally that also included RBI singles by Corey Moore and David Andriese.

The Knights added single runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth, and relievers Kyle McNutt, Eric Young and Chris Mendoza kept the shutout intact with four combined scoreless innings. The Knights won the series and improved to 8-0 all-time against Cowlitz (20-21) with their 12th win in their last 14 games.

Connor Hofmann had a double, single, stolen base and two runs for the Knights. Trent Oleszczuk and Andriese also had two hits as the Knights had 11 overall the night after being held to four hits in a 4-2 victory over Cowlitz at Goss Stadium in the series opener.

Corvallis lengthened its West Division lead to 3.5 games over second-place Bend (23-18) and to 6.5 games over third-place Cowlitz. Bend lost at Wenatchee on Saturday.

The series concludes at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, also in Longview. WCL all-star lefty Jace Fry (1-1, 1.69) is the Knights� probable, opposed by Cowlitz All-Star selection Jeff Gold (4-1, 2.95).

Corvallis is idle on Monday; eight Knights will play in Tuesday night's WCL All-Star Game at Goss Stadium. They open a six-game homestand against Klamath Falls and Bend against the Gems at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday.