Knights edge Redding 4-3, Steve Kalush of Santa Clara earns save.
June 24, 2009
Doug Cherry (pictured) of University of Washington went 2-for-4 with a run scoring double and played a stellar second base to lead Corvallis to its 9th straight win.
Cherry extended his hitting streak to five games and the Knights swept the Colt .45s as Corvallis beat Redding 4-3 on a cold Wednesday night at Goss Stadium.
"Sometimes you get a feeling like you can hit any pitch," Cherry said. "That can be a good thing and it can also be a bad thing. The ball just looks like a beach ball and it's just fun."
The final game of the two-game series between Redding and Corvallis started as a pitching duel between Bobby O'Neil of the Colt .45s and Eric Young (Riverside CC).
Both threw four scoreless innings before Redding busted through in the top of the fifth when Kyle Gutchewsky doubled to left-center and scored on a single by Andrew Swenson.
With one out in the bottom half of the inning, Cherry walked and advanced to third on a single to right by John Desmarais of Washington State. After Desmarais swiped second base, Cherry scored on a ground out by OSU-bound Taylor Ard and then Desmarais scored on a wild pitch by O'Neil putting the Knights up 2-1.
Redding bounced back in the sixth, as Dustin Brooks delivered a run scoring double to tie the game 2-2.
The Knights regained the lead in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs with two outs. Catcher Matt Parker of San Diego State singled and scored on a triple off the wall in right-center by OSU centerfielder Brent Warren. Cherry followed Warren with a double to left-center scoring Warren easily.
"It seemed like every time they scratched a couple of runs we came right back and answered up," Cherry said. "That shows a lot about how we like to play. We came back with some big hits."
Redding struck for a single run in the eighth inning, but it could have been much worse. After pitching a scoreless seventh, reliever Nick Hoover of UC Irvine got into trouble as Redding loaded the bases with no outs. With the sacks juiced, Hoover made a big defensive play on a ball hit in front of the plate, flipping it to catcher Rocky Gale of University of Portland for the first out of the inning.
"I think this team prides itself on defense," Cherry said. "It is almost like a competition to see who can make a cooler play. We all want to make every play and when we do it is just a blast."
After throwing two balls to the next hitter, Hoover was replaced by closer Steve Kalush of Santa Clara, who induced a bases loaded sacrifice fly to center and struck out the next batter to end the threat.
Kalush went on to close out the Colt .45s in order in the ninth to earn his second save of the summer.
Starter Eric Young of Riverside CC threw five innings and only allowed two runs. It was the Knights 12th consecutive quality start dating back to June 12th.
Matt Andriese of UC Riverside picked up his first win as a Knight as the frosh right-hander entered the game in the sixth with runners on first and second with no outs and squelched the Redding uprising by retiring the next three batters.
With the win, Corvallis improves its overall mark to 12-3.
Corvallis plays another non-league game Thursday night as the Knights face Richey's Market. Game time is 6:35 pm.
You can listen to Thursday night's game on KEJO 1240 AM. Mike Parker, the voice of the Knights, calls all the action.
