Bend Elks even series with 9-4 win at Goss Stadium.
June 10, 2009
DJ Johnson (pictured) collected 2 RBI and gave the Knights a short-lived lead with a two-run first-inning bases loaded single.
Despite a late rally in the ninth inning, the Corvallis Knights dropped the second game of the 2009 season 9-4 to the visiting Bend Elks.
The Knights got on the board first as Corvallis first baseman D.J. Johnson of Mt. Hood CC singled home two runs in the bottom of the first to put Corvallis up 2-0.
Knights' starting pitcher Nick Struck of Mt. Hood CC shutdown the Elks for the first two innings before struggling to find the strike zone in the third, walking the first two batters, setting up a two-run double by Elks' shortstop Tommy Richards of Washington State.
The Elks built on its lead in the fourth when rightfielder Peter Levine of University of San Francisco smoked a two-run homer over the right field wall, giving Bend a 4-2 lead.
Reliever Nick Opitz of Mt. Hood CC entered the game in the fifth and walked the first two batters he faced. After Garrat Queen of University of Portland singled in one run, catcher Jordan Lanman followed with a RBI bunt single.
Opitz settled down after Lanman's bunt, striking out the next two hitters he faced.
Neither team was able to score again until the top of the eighth inning when Ryan Amerongen of Baylor reached on an infield single and moved to third on Ryan Dunn's double to right-center. Lucas Hileman's single off of Knights' reliever Trevor Smith of Linn-Benton CC plated both Amerongen and Dunn, giving the Elks an 8-2 lead.
Perth, Australia native Liam Baron of Linn-Benton CC made his first appearance of the 2009 season and pitched a scoreless ninth-inning of relief.
Down 9-2 in the ninth, the Knights got off to a promising start as George Fox shortstop Taylor Hunter reached on an error. Pat Colwell of San Diego State reached on a fielder's choice, and moved to third on back-to-back singles by Dylan Jones of Mt. Hood CC and Western Oregon's Billy Clontz. A Bend passed ball allowed Colwell to scamper home, and moved Jones and Clontz up a base.
With runners on second and third, the Knights' hero from the night before, Taylor Ard of Mt. Hood CC, launched a double to the wall in centerfield scoring Jones for the Knights' fourth and final run of the game.
Jones finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs scored, while Clontz scored one run and went 2-for-4.
Struck got the loss in his debut with the Knights, going four innings, striking out seven and surrendering four earned runs.
Opitz tossed two innings giving up two runs, while the Elks plated three runs against Smith.
Ross Pomerantz of Occidental College got the Knights out of eighth-inning trouble, giving up a hit over 2/3 innings pitched.
Walks doom the Knights by Brooks Hatch of the Gazette-Times
