Kahle, Knights pound out 17 hits in win over 'Cats.
July 24, 2016Nick Kahle (pictured), Roman Garcia and Andy Atwood had three hits each and Garcia drove in three runs as Corvallis thumped Victoria 9-2 before a Wilson Motors Night crowd of 1,933.
The Knights (31-17 overall, 24-17 WCL, 6-8 second half) thus evened the West Coast League series, which concludes at 6:40 p.m. Monday. It will be Holiday Inn Express Baseball Giveaway Night; the first 500 fans get a free baseball.
Kahle (Washington in 2017) and Atwood (Oregon State) also scored twice each, Taylor and Garcia once each as the Knights battered three HarbourCats (30-11 WCL, 7-7 second half) pitchers for 17 hits while ending a two-game losing streak.
Kahle was 3-for-4, singling in his last three at-bats. He is 7-22 (.318) over that span, with four RBIs, to raise his season mark to .255.
"I am seeing the ball better; I have also been working on some hitting stuff," Kahle said. "I am getting my timing and rhythm down better."
The Knights also bounced back from a 7-5, 12-inning loss on Saturday night with an energized performance in Game 2 of a series matching the two first-half division champions.
"We also want to win," Kahle said. "We are expecting to come out with as much energy as we should."
Atwood and Scott Ogrin (Cal Poly in 2017) doubled. Atwood's 3-for-4 night raised his average to .328 (42-128); he is now fourth in batting and tied for fourth in RBIs (22) in the WCL.
Zak Taylor (OSU) singled twice and drove in two runs. Center fielder Kyle Nobach (OSU) singled, scored twice, drove in a run and stole a base.
Corvallis starter Ryley Widell (Central Arizona) allowed one run, four hits and had four strikeouts in 5.2 innings and got the win. Grant Goodman (San Francisco) got the third out in the fifth to strand runners at second and third with the Knights holding a 4-1 lead, and added another scoreless inning.
New signee Louis Crow (San Diego in 2017), a 2016 Milwaukee Brewers' 16th-round draft choice, went the final two innings in his second appearance.
Lefty Cameron Bishop of UC Irvine (1-2, 0.40), named the WCL's top pro prospect at the recent All-Star Game, is the projected starter for the Knights in Monday's series finale. UC Davis righty Blake Hannah (1-2, 3.91) goes for the HarbourCats.