Torres has four hits, two RBIs in big 8-3 victory.

Right fielder Nick Torres (pictured) was 4-for-5 with a double, two RBIs and three runs to lead Corvallis to the crucial West Division win at Kitsap.

The Knights (26-21 WCL, 31-21 overall) won the series 2-1 and took a big step toward advancing to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive summer. They stayed three games ahead of second-place Cowlitz and moved 3.5 games ahead of Klamath Falls and 4.5 games ahead of Bend in the West Division pennant race.

The Knights have seven games left; they open a pivotal three-game series with Cowlitz at Goss Stadium on Thursday night. The top two finishers in the division advance to the divisional playoffs, starting on Aug. 11.

A rising sophomore at Cal Poly, Torres extended his hitting streak to six straight WCL games. He's hitting .480 (12-25) in that span, with seven RBIs, and has raised his league average 56 points to .256.

Starter Jorge Perez struck out three, walked none, and gave up one run on six hits over seven strong innings to get the win. Aaron Corwin went the final 1.2 innings for the save after the BlueJackets (14-36) drew within 6-3 in the eighth.

The Knights scored twice in the first inning on consecutive singles by Greg Mahle, Torres and Caleb Whalen and an errant pickoff throw. They blew it open with a four-run third to surge ahead 6-0; Whalen hit a two-run triple and Torres and Austin Barr added RBI singles.

Torres had an RBI double and Alex Foulon an RBI single in the ninth for key insurance runs. Whalen had two hits and three RBIs and Mahle had two hits and scored twice.

Corvallis and Cowlitz meet on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the Knights' final regular-season homestand. Trevor Frank (0-1, 0.81) of UC Riverside is Thursday's scheduled starter for the Knights.