Knights on verge of West title after 7-2 win at Bend.

Corvallis starter Chris Johnson (pictured) extended his scoreless streak to 21 consecutive innings with five shutout frames in a 7-2 victory over the Elks.

A West Division All-Star, Johnson (5-0) has not allowed a run since the first inning of a July 9 game at Kelowna. He struck out five, allowed four hits, didn�t walk a man, and threw 42 strikes in 64 pitches. His ERA has dropped from 3.93 to 1.83 during his scoreless streak.

Relievers Eric Young, Chris Mendoza and Scott Schultz finished up for the Knights, whose magic number to reach two major objectives dropped to one.

The Knights clinched a tie for a West Coast League West Division playoff spot. A Knights' win or a Cowlitz loss in the final six games of the season will wrap up a playoff berth for Corvallis.

The Knights (34-16, 32-16 WCL) likewise moved to within one game of clinching a tie for their fifth consecutive West Division regular-season championship. They now lead second-place Bend (27-21) by five games with six to play.

Any Knights' win or Bend loss from here on out will clinch a tie for first place. Any combination of Knights' wins or Bend losses equaling two will result in the Knights' fifth division title in a row.

Corvallis has now won seven straight WCL series. The Knights were 14-12 in the league after losing 5 of 6 to Wenatchee and Bend on June 30-July 5; since then they are 18-4 in league play.

Center fielder Connor Hofmann drove in his first two runs of the summer and Corey Davis had two hits for the Knights. Corvallis scored four times in the second to take command, and added two insurance runs in the sixth and another in the ninth.

Cowlitz stayed alive mathematically with a 2-0 win at Kitsap; the third-place Black Bears (26-22) trail the Knights by six games with six remaining. A Knights win, or a Cowlitz loss, eliminates the Black Bears from championship contention.

The top two teams advance to the best-of-3 West Division playoffs, which start Aug, 12 with one game at the No. 2 seed's ballpark. Cowlitz trails Bend by one game in their race for second place, and owns the tie-breaker should they finish with identical records because it won the season series.

The Knights open a three-game series at Klamath Falls at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday. WCL all-star Chase Johnson of Cal Poly (1-1, 2.59) is their scheduled starter. Their next home game is a 6:40 p.m. Friday nonconference encounter against the Dukes of WCL Portland.