Knights sweep Bend before record crowd of 1,632. Corvallis shuts out Elks 3-0.

Eskew (pictured), Rue, Brookey, Nichols and Starr combine to whitewash Bend on four hits. Jared Eskew of Cal Poly pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. The southpaw from Bakersfield, California has not allowed an earned run over 17 innings pitched.

Ben Rue of Concordia threw 2 1/3 innings of shutout relief to earn the win and improve his record to 3-2.

Chris Brookey, a sophomore-to be at Southwestern State, struck out the only batter he faced.

Geoff Nichols, a junior-to be at University of Oregon, retired the two batters he faced and Taylor Starr threw a scoreless ninth to record his second save in two nights.

In front of a record-setting crowd of 1,632, the Knights posted a 3-0 victory as they swept the Bend Elks thanks to another strong performance from the club's pitching staff and an all around great day by leftfielder John Wallace of Oregon State. Wallace went 1 for 3 and delivered the game-winning RBI. He also made a run-saving diving catch in left that brought the fans to their feet on Fireworks Night at Goss.

"This is a great win for us against the other team in the state of Oregon," Wallace said. "It is a good win for us, with Bend at the top of the standings at the start of the series the sweep is huge."

The Knights got things going in the third when Washington State catcher Alex Burg walked to lead off the frame. Burg was moved over to second on a sac bunt by Riverside CC's Richie Jimenez and to third on a balk. With two outs, Wallace singled past a diving first baseman to score Burg.

In the top of the sixth Wallace made the defensive play of the game (and season) when with one out and a runner on second, Bend's Daniel Butler of University of Arizona scorched a ball on a line to the left of Wallace. Getting a good read on the ball, Wallace ran it down diving to his right to make an unbelievable catch, saving a run.

"He hit it and I thought I could get to it," said the senior-to be from Reno, Nevada. "I just went all out for it."

For the second night in a row, Corvallis put up two insurance runs late in the ballgame. Mt. Hood CC's Josh Hogan led-off the inning with a single to left and moved to second on a Wallace sacrifice bunt. Logan Lotti of Sierra College then laced a single into center to score Hogan.

With Lotti on first, the Knights executed a perfect hit-and-run as Matt Wyckoff of George Fox singled past a diving shortstop moving Lotti to third. Lotti scored on the next play as Billy Clontz of Mt. Hood CC grounded into a fielder's choice driving in the Knights' third and final run.

Clontz went 2 for 4 on the day and collected his team leading 16th RBI.

With a 3-0 lead, head coach Brooke Knight turned to closer Taylor Starr of Oregon State. Starr stuffed Bend to earn his second save of the season.

"(Taylor) has worked out a couple of early kinks and looked very sharp in his last two efforts," Knights' head coach Brooke Knight said. "I think he is pitching with a little more poise and confidence, making strides in the right direction."

Josh Hogan, a junior-to be at University of Oregon, went 2 for 4 with a double.

The Knights have made only 1 error in its last 4 games and have won 5 games in a row.

With the win, Corvallis improves to 13-7 overall and 12-6 in League. The Knights lead Bend and Kitsap by 3 games as Kitsap lost its second straight game at home to Moses Lake. Both Bend and Kitsap are now 9-9.

Moses Lake visits Corvallis Friday night coming off two big wins at Kitsap. The Pirates are 6-11 and are defending WCCBL champions.

Liam Baron of Linn-Benton CC is the Knights' probable starter on Independence Day.

You can catch the entire three-game set with Moses Lake on 990 AM The Legend. Mike Parker, the voice of the Knights, calls all the action.