Fisher, Alcantar spark comeback in 4-2 victory.

Clay Fisher (pictured) and Emilio Alcantar had RBIs in a 3-run eighth inning and Corvallis edged Victoria 4-2 on Saturday to win the West Coast League series.

It was the fifth straight win overall and the second WCL victory in a row for the Knights (13-14 all, 9-14 WCL). They trail Yakima Valley by just three games in the race for the WCL's wild-card playoff berth, with 31 games to play.

It also clinched their first league series victory since a June 12-14 sweep at Wenatchee. Corvallis had lost successive series to Yakima Valley, Bend, Bend and Medford in a 2-10 tailspin.

Jes Staples (Bellarmine) ignited the decisive comeback with a leadoff single. After a sacrifice, Christian Donahue (Oregon State) worked a walk after a 10-pitch at-bat featuring two near-doubles down the right-field line that landed foul by less than a foot.

With the table set, Fisher, a shortstop from UC Santa Barbara, lined a 1-1 pitch for a single up the middle to score Staples with the tying run.

Fisher then stole second with pinch-hitter Alcantar (Linn-Benton CC) at-bat. Donahue and he scored the go-ahead and insurance runs on a throwing error on Alcantar's squeeze bunt down the third-base line.

Corvallis closer Ryan Walker (Washington State) struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his first league save. Alex Nesbitt (Washington) got the win for pitching a scoreless eighth.

A La Quinta, Calif., native who started all spring for the Gauchos, Fisher just returned to the lineup on Friday night after missing 10 days with a slight case of pneumonia. He was 1-for-4 with the RBI, a run, a steal and flawless defense on seven chances.

"It felt really good" to be back in action and contributing again, he said. "I was struggling and mad early on, so it felt really good.

"I think [the team] is finding chemistry. We are getting a lot closer to each other and it is helping a lot to create energy in the dugout."

Corvallis wasted scoring opportunities in the first three innings but finally broke through in the seventh on a double by Cameron Bishop and a two-out RBI single by Cole Kreuter (UC Irvine) to trim Victoria's lead to 2-1.

Corvallis starter Cory Nelson (Pacific Lutheran) allowed two runs and six hits in seven innings in another quality outing. He had three strikeouts and two walks.

The series concludes at 5:05 p.m. Sunday. The Knights' starter is undecided; Victoria will go with CSU-Fullerton right-hander Henry Omana (0-0, 3.00).

Saturday's crowd of 1,218 increased the season total to 22,914 in 15 dates. The Knights are 4,875 fans ahead of 2014 in a corresponding number of openings.