Barr's grand slam helps Knights end 7-game tailspin.

A towering grand slam by Stanford-bound DH Austin Barr (pictured) led Corvallis to a 5-2 victory over Wenatchee to end a seven-game losing streak.

The recent graduate of Camas (Wash.) High School crushed a 2-0 fastball from lefty Lawrence Chew well over the taller fence in left field for his second game-winning grand slam of the season. A nearly-identical blast at Walla Walla on June 1 gave Corvallis a 6-4 win in its season opener.

"I knew the pitcher wasn't throwing strikes and I was expecting a fastball," said Barr, whose 13 RBIs are tied with Nick Torres for second on the team, behind Caleb Whalen (18). "I was just looking to hit the ball hard."

His shot erased a 1-0 deficit and ended a 13-inning scoreless streak over their last three games for the Knights. They won for the first time since July 1 and extended their West Division lead over idle Bend to three games.

Barr's was their first home round-tripper in 2012. It was their first homer since Beau Fraser went deep at Walla Walla on June 2 in Game 2, and their first home grand slam since Jim Murphy's against the now-defunct Spokane RiverHawks in 2007.

Corvallis (19-13 WCL, 20-13 overall) had not led at the end of an inning for 54 innings in a row before Barr's homer. It just completed an 0-6 road trip in which it was swept at Bellingham and Kelowna and shut out three times.

"The mood is a lot better in the dugout now," Barr said. "The coaches and team are happier and we feel like we are back on track."

Starter Bryan Granger of Cal Poly spaced four hits over six innings for the win. Reliever Devon Barker of Centralia College allowed a run but struck out eight of the 11 AppleSox he faced in a three-inning save.

The Knights had nine runners off Chew in the first five innings but could not score. However, a leadoff error in the sixth by third baseman Taylor Sparks on a grounder by Torres opened the floodgates.

Caleb Whalen singled and Marc Gallegos beat out an attempted sacrifice bunt to lead the bases with no outs. Three pitches later, Barr's hit sailed well over the wall, the Knights were ahead to stay, and the losing streak was soon to be history.

Torres scored an insurance run on a balk in the seventh. Whalen and Gallegos, back in the lineup after missing the road trip with passport issues, had three hits each.

Wenatchee (21-9 WCL) fell to 2-5 on its current road trip and saw its East Division lead over Bellingham shaved to one game. The Bells defeated the Portland Stars in a non-league game on Monday. Kelowna, which topped Klamath Falls, is now just two games back.

The teams meet again at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday; lefty Carlos Rodriguez (1-0, 2.16) of Oregon State will pitch for the Knights. It�s PEAK Internet Technology and Innovators Night, and a BI-MART $2 Tuesday. Show your BI-MART card and receive a GA seat for just $2.

The series concludes at 6:40 p.m. on a Senior Wednesday; all GA seats are just $2 for our 60-over fans, and popcorn is only $1. The famous ZOOperstars! return, presented by IBEW 280.