Corvallis runs its win streak to 14, shells RiverHawks 11-1 before a Monday night crowd of 643.
June 29, 2009
Future Oregon State catcher Andrew Susac (pictured) went 3-for-3 to lead the Knights hit attack. Corvallis collected 14 hits and won its 14th straight.
"I did some work in the cages and kind of fixed up my hands," Susac said. "I was struggling with inside pitches and a little adjustment made a difference."
Spokane was held to one run by Knights' starter Dustin Emmons of UC Riverside and three relievers each tossed a single scoreless inning. Emmons improved to 3-0 with the victory.
The Knights capitalized on Spokane's mistakes to turn a close game early into a rout. The RiverHawks committed an astounding nine errors. And Corvallis made them pay.
"That's what happens when you put pressure on the other team," said Oregon second baseman Josh Hogan. "Just put the ball in play and see what happens. We did some base running things that were abnormal, they were kind of shocked when it happened."
The Knights were stellar in all facets of the game from hitting to pitching to defense and base running. The only thing that went wrong for the Knights went down in the bottom of the fourth when home plate umpire Kendall Snyder ejected Knights' third baseman Carter Bell of OSU for having words with Spokane's starting pitcher after he executed a sacrifice bunt and was tagged too hard for his liking by the Hawks' hurler.
"We tried to stay with an aggressive approach," said head coach Brooke Knight. "We made a decision to go out, be aggressive and try to win a ball game."
"Andrew Susac has the ability to hit.
"He has made some adjustments, is seeing better pitching and he did a great job. What he did tonight, was got himself in better counts," said Knight.
Pat Colwell of San Diego State went 3-for-5 and fellow outfielders Brent Warren of WSU and Billy Clontz of Western Oregon extended their hit streaks to seven- and six-games.
Emmons threw six innings while striking out 4 to earn the win. Relief pitchers Eddie Orozco of UC Riverside, Trevor Smith of Linn-Benton CC and Dylan Jones of Mt. Hood CC each pitched a no-hit, scoreless inning to finish the game.
With the win, the Knights improved its overall record to 17-3 and league mark to 12-3.
Corvallis and Spokane resume their series Tuesday night. You can listen to all the action on KEJO 1240 AM. Mike Parker - the voice of the Knights - calls the play-by-play.
