Kline's walkoff HR stuns Bend, sends Knights to finals.

Kevin Kline (pictured) slammed a two-run homer with one out in the 9th to give Corvallis a thrilling 2-1 win over Bend and berth in the WCLCS.

The Knights (42-19) trailed 1-0 with one out in the ninth when Marc Gallegos (Corban) reached safely on an error by Elks' third baseman Brock Carpenter. Kline (Dixie State) then crushed the next pitch from reliever Louis Cohen of Cal State Northridge well over the taller portion of the left-field fence for a no-doubt walkoff in one of the most dramatic moments in franchise history.

He jubilantly circled the bases as the crowd of 794 cheered him on. He chucked his batting helmet in the air after rounding third, bounded down the line and then jumped on home plate while being mobbed by delirious teammates.

It was Kline's ninth homer of the season, and his first since he hit his third grand slam of the summer at Victoria on July 27.

"I was thinking first-pitch fastball," Kline said. "He was just sawing everybody off with that two-seam. I just went up there looking for that. I saw it well and hit it."

Corvallis also won Tuesday's series opener 2-1 at Bend with a run in the eighth inning that broke a 1-1 tie.

The Knights will now face Bellingham at 6:40 p.m. on Friday, August 15th in the opener of the best-of-3 West Coast League Championship Series (WCLCS). Bellingham eliminated Yakima Valley 4-3 at Bellingham to sweep the other semifinal.

Games two and three of the WCLCS will be played at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham with game two set for Sunday, August 17 (6:35 pm start). If necessary, game three would be played on Monday, August 18 (7:05 pm start).

Chris Haddeland (Linfield) and Justin Calomeni (Cal Poly) pitched brilliantly to keep the Knights within striking distance. Haddeland struck out six and gave up one run and six hits in eight innings. Calomeni threw the ninth and got the win when Kline's homer sailed high and deep into the night.

Corvallis had several scoring chances before the ninth but could not cash in. After being held hitless for 3.1 innings, Dane Lund (Oregon State) singled but was stranded at third in the fourth inning.

The Knights also had runners at first and second with no outs in the seventh and with one out in the eighth, but could not advance them. Cohen struck out two batters to end the seventh and got a strikeout and an infield pop out to end the eighth.

One of those strikeout victims was Kline, but he said he re-focused the next time up.

"Having runners in scoring position and coming up empty every time is real frustrating," he said. "You have to step back and let the game come to you. That's what I did and I just crushed the ball."

Corvallis hit just three balls to the outfield prior to Kline's game-winner, singles by Lund and Kline and a fly out to right field by Dalton Kelly (UC Santa Barbara). Hamann and Cohen combined for nine strikeouts.

Wednesday's crowd of 794 raised the season attendance to 42,727 in 33 openings. That's 830 less than 2013 in a comparable number of home dates; the Knights drew a franchise-record 43,557 fans in 33 total openings last summer.

The Knights are the reigning WCL champion and have advanced to the WCL Championship Series for a fourth consecutive season; and it is the team's seventh appearance in the WCLCS over the eight years the club has been based in Corvallis.