Knights end first half of 2018 season with a 14-10 record

After the Oregon State baseball team left for the College World Series in June, the Corvallis Knights baseball players took to Goss Stadium at Coleman Field.

In their fourteenth season, the Knights are one of the 11 teams competing in the wood-bat West Coast League this summer. The WCL is for college-eligible players only, and gives athletes from around the country an opportunity to play competitive baseball during the summer. 

After winning back-to-back WCL championships in 2016 and 2017, the Knights are looking to build their team towards another title this summer. In the first half of the season, Corvallis finished second in the south division with a 13-10 record, four wins behind the Portland Pickles.

Trevor Wells, a sophomore pitcher from Linn-Benton Community College, said the team is performing well, but needs more consistent days with all players showing up in order to win more games.

“We’ve had some hot streaks and some cold streaks, but that’s just the way baseball goes,” Wells said. “Hopefully we will start picking it up here and we’ll ride out the end of the season strong.”

With the second half of the season underway, the Knights need to maintain their momentum in order to catch a safe playoff spot. Their last game of the season will be against the Yakima Pippins on August 8, a team that took last in the north division for the first half of the season.  

According to Wells, with games almost every day during the summer, players must take care of themselves in order to perform well.

“You just have to keep your body right, hydrate, eat the right things,” Wells said. “If you’re hurting, ask for the day off. No one is going to get mad at you if you’re asking for a day off. You just have to really listen to your body.”

After losing a home game against the Pickles in June, junior outfielder Chandler Anderson from the University of Utah said the team has to play hard to stay in the playoff race.

“Now that we have all of our guys in town I think it’s going well, we have a bunch of competitive guys,” Anderson said. “Tough series this weekend, but no losing hope. I think it’s going to be another championship team.”

Briley Knight, a senior catcher from Crescent Valley High School, said he thinks the team will figure out their chemistry soon.

“It’s been a little rough, we’ve gotten our butts kicked a little bit, but I think we’re still trying to figure out who we are individually,” Knight said. “Everyone loves each other and we’re still trying to figure it out, but we still have a lot of the season left. I believe in every one of these guys and I think we will get it eventually you know, it’s just a matter of time.”

With the Oregon State Beavers recently becoming national champions and returning home from Omaha, junior catcher Zak Taylor and freshman outfielder Elliot Willy will be joining the Knights this summer.

“You never know, a couple guys coming onto the team can create some momentum and maybe help us figure it out,” Knight said. “Like I said, I believe in every one of these guys, maybe it just takes one player to change everything. I’m kind of just waiting for that spark to hit us and getting on another streak.”