Quinlan's HR, pen give Knights 4-3 win in opener.

Scott Quinlan's (pictured) 3-run homer gave Corvallis the lead in the 4th and the bullpen shut down Bellingham from there as the Knights won Game 1 of the WCLCS.

A rising senior at UC Santa Barbara, Quinlan slammed a Zach Johnson pitch well over the fence in left-center to erase a 3-1 deficit. Dalton Kelly (UC Santa Barbara) and Marc Gallegos (Corban), aboard via a walk and a single, also scored on the play.

The Knights (43-19 overall) moved to within one win of their fourth West Coast League championship and the successful defense of their 2013 crown. The best-of-3 series resumes in Bellingham at 7:05 p.m. Sunday after a travel day on Saturday.

One of the Knights more explosive and energetic players, Quinlan did not have a plate appearance from Aug. 1 through Aug. 12 while recovering from a hand injury. He returned in the opener of the semifinal series at Bend on Aug. 12 and went 1-for-4 with a double.

His second homer of the summer was a no-doubt shot over the 365-foot mark in the alley.

"It just happened to be my turn to step up and hit," Quinlan said. "I got the job done."

Relievers Justin Calomeni (Cal Poly) and Brandon Choate (Washington) took it from there and shut the Bells (41-18) down completely from that point on. After escaping an inherited jam in the fourth unscathed, Calomeni allowed a hit and a walk in the fifth and then retired the next 11 Bells in order to hand a 4-3 lead over to the WCL's premier closer to start the ninth.

Choate struck out the first batter he faced, and then issued a four-pitch walk to put the tying run on base. He then got another strikeout and induced a force-play grounder to shortstop to end the game and record his 10th save.

Game 2 is set for 7:05 p.m. Sunday at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham. Chris Bishop (3-2, 3.22) of Pacific Lutheran is the probable starter for Corvallis, opposed by Ryan McMonigle of Concordia (3-0, 0.76) in a matchup of small-college right-handers.

If necessary, a decisive Game 3 would be played at 7:05 p.m. Monday. Only two of the previous seven finals have required three games.

Bishop already has a win in the playoffs, with four scoreless innings in a 2-1 win at Bend on Aug. 12 in the first game of the semifinals.

Corvallis jumped ahead 1-0 in the first on Melker's single, a sacrifice and Kelly's double. Bellingham answered with two runs in the third and another in the fourth to knock out starter Jackson Lockwood (Portland) and assume a 3-1 lead.

Friday's crowd of 706 raised the final season attendance to 43,433 in 34 openings. That's 96 less than 2013, when the Knights drew a franchise-record 43,529 fans in 33 openings.

The Knights are the reigning WCL champions and have advanced to the WCL Championship Series in seven of their eight years in Corvallis.