Beatty impressive in Knights 5-1 win over Sweets.

Veteran Max Beatty (pictured) threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings and had five strikeouts in his first start since undergoing successful treatment for cancer.

Beatty has not yet regained all his stamina and he was lifted after 45 pitches, 34 of which were strikes. So he did not go the required five innings to get the decision in the Knights' (8-4 WCL, 8-4 overall) fourth triumph in a row.

But Thursday was another indication that he's closer to regaining the form that made the Pacific Lutheran junior a West Coast League all-star, the Knights' top winner (6) in their 2011 championship season, and the top-rated Division III 2012 draft prospect by Baseball America.

"I was glad to get back on the mound for a start," said Beatty, who went a scoreless inning at Wenatchee on June 9 in his only previous pitching appearance this summer. "My arm felt completely strong and in good shape."

Reliever Aaron Corwin gave up one run in 3.1 innings and got the win. Devon Barker closed it out with two scoreless innings to clinch the series. The Knights also won Wednesday's opener, 2-0.

Walla Walla (3-8 WCL) scored in the seventh inning to halve a 2-0 deficit. That snapped a scoreless streak of 27 innings by Corvallis pitchers over the past four games. But the Knights answered with three runs in the bottom half to put the game out of reach and hand the Sweets their fifth consecutive loss.

Corvallis broke a 0-0 tie in the fifth on an RBI single by Beau Fraser; a second run scored on an error. Nate Roberts, Caleb Whalen and Nick Torres each added RBI singles in the game-clinching seventh. Matt Nylen singled twice and Caylen Clardy and Tyler Campbell added doubles.

The Knights also threw some defense at the Sweets. Campbell's relay from short left field gunned down Jarrod Turner at the plate, 8-6-2, when he tried to score from first on a double in the fourth inning with the game still scoreless. Second baseman Marc Gallegos topped that with a leaping, backhanded grab of a line drive to end the eighth inning.

The series concludes at 6:40 p.m. Friday. The projected starting pitchers are Jorge Perez of Grand Canyon (1-1, 1.64) for the Knights and Doug Ashby of Baylor (0-0, 8.10) for the Sweets.

The Knights play at Bend on Saturday and Sunday, and then host the Elks on Monday in their next home game.