Knights win opener at Walla Walla 6-4.

Stanford frosh-to-be catcher Austin Barr (pictured) blasted a game-winning grand slam in the eighth-inning to propel Corvallis to the victory.

Barr can only play one game this weekend because of a graduation party in his hometown of Camas, Wash.

But the Camas High School senior made his lone appearance count. Barr crushed an eighth-inning grand slam to give the Knights a 6-4 victory over Walla Walla at a nearly sold out Borleske Stadium in each team's West Coast League opener.

A Stanford signee who also expects to be selected in next week's MLB draft, Barr hammered a 1-2 hanging curve from reliever Garrett Tygerson of Lewis-Clark State into the trees behind the 359-foot mark of the left-field fence. He was 0-for-3 to that point.

The Knights (1-0, 1-0 WCL) trailed 4-2 entering the eighth, but loaded the bases on an infield error, a walk and a bunt single by Caleb Whalen of Portland off Zach Brandon of Linfield College.

Tygerson relieved and fanned Portland Pilots first baseman Beau Fraser, but Barr stayed back on a slow curve and hit it so well that left-fielder Spencer O�Neil didn't even move a muscle.

Corvallis reliever Robb Dittrick of Pacific University earned the win with 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. He walked in two runs when he entered a bases-loaded situation in the fifth, but otherwise was in control.

A.J. Burke of Western Oregon pitched a hitless ninth for the save.

Western Oregon's Matt Nylen doubled, singled and drove in a run to augment Barr's grand slam. Whalen also had two hits and junior-to-be outfielder Nathan Blackham of Washington State scored twice and stole two bases.

Nylen's double, that hit the left-field scoreboard on a bounce, drove in Blackham to give Corvallis a 2-1 lead in the fourth. The Knights had four straight hits in that inning; Blackham drove in the first run with a single.

However, Corvallis stranded two runners in scoring position and the Sweets surged back ahead in the fifth with three runs on four walks, a hit batsmen and a sacrifice fly off Dittrick and starter Aaron Corwin of Texas Tech.

The series resumes at 7:07 p.m. Saturday; scheduled starters are right-hander Jorge Perez of Grand Canyon University for the Knights and freshman lefty Joe Arlt of Walla Walla Community College, a 10-day signee, for the Sweets. The series concludes at 7:07 p.m. Sunday.

The Knights are idle on Monday. Their home opener is set for 6:40 p.m. Tuesday against the Klamath Falls Gems.