SS Madrigal arrives in knick of time, sparks 5-4 win over Bellingham.

New arrival Nick Madrigal led the Knights to a 5-4 win that snapped a four-game tailspin.

A 5-foot-8, 160-pound shortstop from Elk Grove, Calif., who will play at Oregon State next season, Madrigal had two doubles, a single, a steal and two runs in an impressive debut. He also scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and flawlessly handled five defensive chances.

The recent graduate of Elk Grove High School was selected by Cleveland in the 17th round of the MLB draft on Wednesday. However, he flew to Portland on Thursday, caught a ride to Corvallis from a friend and took the field without any pregame warmup.

"We hit a lot of traffic on our way here," he said. "We arrived at the park five minutes before game time and they told me to get on in there and put my stuff on.

"I didn't have any time to even warm up. I was told to go out and play so that's what I did. Baseball is the same anywhere you play.

"I just came out here and tried to play the best I could play. It is really an honor to be out here on this field in front of everyone."

Catcher Ryan Matranga added a solo homer and sacrifice fly. A rising senior at the University of San Francisco who was all-West Coast League at Kitsap in 2014, he gave the Knights an early 1-0 lead when he crushed a pitch well over the left-field fence leading off the second inning for the Knights� first homer of the season.

He added the sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, when the Knights scored twice to erase a 2-1 deficit. Bellingham pulled even in the seventh, but Corvallis got the winner in the home half when Madrigal singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Emilio Alcantar�s (Linn-Benton CC) sacrifice fly.

Starter Ryan Walker (Washington State) struck out six of the first seven Bells and allowed two runs on three hits through five innings. He finished with eight strikeouts but got a no-decision.

Relievers Nick Duron (Clark CC) and Austin Kelly (LBCC) finished up with two innings apiece. Kelly earned his first save of the season.

Corvallis (3-4 all, 2-4 WCL) had dropped four straight games since an opening-night victory at Bend on June 5. Bellingham (4-2 WCL) remained in first place in the West Division despite the loss.

The Knights head to Wenatchee on Friday for a three-game series with the longtime-rival AppleSox. University of Portland Lefty Cole Doherty (0-1, 10.80) will pitch for Corvallis.

The roster will be strengthened considerably by the arrival of Madrigal, UC Irvine infielder Cole Kreuter and Washington catcher Andy Cosgrove. The remainder of the full-time players are expected to report by Tuesday, when the Knights start a six-game homestand against Yakima Valley and Bend.

Thursday's crowd of 937 upped the season attendance to 5,794 in four dates. That puts the Knights 797 fans ahead of last year's total through a corresponding number of home openings.