Surrey shines, gets victory in Corvallis debut.

Lefty Elliot Surrey (pictured) hurled three scoreless innings of relief and earned the win in his Knights' debut on Saturday night in a 6-2 decision over Cowlitz at Goss Stadium.

A freshman from UC Irvine who joined the team earlier this week, Surrey allowed two hits, had three strikeouts and picked a runner off second base in an impressive initial appearance. He escaped two-on, one-out jams in the sixth and eighth innings, aided by the pickoff in the sixth and back-to-back strikeouts of the No. 3 and cleanup hitters to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth.

It was the third straight win for the Knights (6-5 overall, 5-5 WCL) and it moved them into a third-place tie with the Black Bears (5-5) in the South Division. Corvallis, which has won six straight division titles, was in last place (sixth) after losing the opener of a three-game series to Kitsap on Wednesday night.

Designated hitter Cody Lenahan continued to emerge from an early-season slump with his second straight big night at the plate. He had an RBI double that drove in two key insurance runs in the eighth, and a 375-foot sacrifice fly to center in the sixth that would have been a double for sure if not for a spectacular running, over-the-shoulder catch by Austin Grebeck.

Lenahan hit a two-run homer on Friday night, the first of the season for the Knights. He now has a team-best six RBIs (five in his last two games) and has boosted his average from .200 to .250 in two games.

Another new face, UC Santa Barbara freshman outfielder Joe Duffin, also made his Knights' debut and went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Leadoff hitter Grant Melker walked three times, scored twice and stole two bases and returnee Chris Rabago, another Anteater making his summer debut, had a hit, a run and a steal.

Cowlitz knocked Corvallis starter Colin Feldtman out of an eventual 8-7 win at Longview last Monday in two innings. He exacted a measure of revenge on Saturday, however, by limiting the Black Bears to two runs and two hits over five innings in a quality start. He had four strikeouts.

Game 2 of the series is set for 7:05 p.m. Sunday; lefty Devon Barker (1-0, 0.00) is the scheduled starter for Corvallis. He no-hit Cowlitz for 8.2 innings on June 9 before giving up a single, but still got the win in a 1-0 Knights' triumph.