Logan Lotti put his struggles at the plate out of his mind in right field on Friday night.

The leading hitter in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, Lotti shrugged off a tough 1-for-5 performance and delivered the throw to trigger the defensive play of the Corvallis Knights’ 6-2 victory over the Wenatchee AppleSox.

With Wenatchee threatening in the top of the seventh and the Knights clinging to a 4-2 lead, Chris Escobar laced a one-out single to right and Curran Redal rounded third in an attempt to cut the Corvallis lead.

“My eyes lit up when I saw the ball was trickling through the infield and I was just busting hard right at it,” Lotti said. “I saw in my peripheral vision that he was rounding third and I knew I was not too deep to make a play. I just reared back and let it loose and good things happen.”

Lotti’s throw was right on target and catcher Alex Burg blocked the plate perfectly, drawing cheers from the crowd of 905 at Goss Stadium.

Wenatchee didn’t come close to home plate again as the Knights collected the victory in a showdown between the WCCBL’s two division leaders.

Corvallis now leads second-place Bend by six games in the West Division, and is four games ahead of East Division leader Wenatchee in the race for the best overall record and home-field advantage in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League’s best-of-three Championship Series, should either team get that far.

“That was a huge play for us,” first baseman Kyle Stalker said. “It just showed that we have it all clicking on all cylinders.

“The guy squeaking a base hit through and Logan coming up and firing that guy out, it’s just as good as a run on offense.”

Stalker knew plenty about the Knights’ offense. He drove in four runs — two on a double to straightaway center in the fourth inning to give the Knights the lead — and finished 3-for-4.

Wenatchee tied the game in the top of the fifth on Hawkins Gebbers’ second RBI single, but the Knights promptly answered in their half of the inning.

Lotti led off with a double, Billy Clontz moved Lotti to third with a single to left and center fielder Adam Melker plated Lotti with a bunt single.

Two outs later, Stalker singled to right, scoring Clontz.

“I’m seeing the ball well and just shortening up the swing, putting the bat on the ball and trying to get it done,” Stalker, of Willamette University, said after going 3-for-4.

The No. 8 hitter on Friday, Stalker would have had a perfect plate night, except Wenatchee’s Gebbers tried too hard to make a play on a ball deep in the hole behind second, throwing wide of first, but in time, for an error.

Wenatchee (18-13) committed four errors in its sixth straight loss.

Corvallis (25-11, 21-9 WCCBL), which leads the league in fielding, didn’t have an error while earning its fourth straight win.

“It’s a big game, with us in first place in the West and them in first in the east,” Stalker said. “It’s big to show that the divisions aren’t lopsided and that we can pitch and hit and play defense.”

The Knights struggled to get going against Wenatchee ace Steve Ames. They trailed 1-0 before Melker ripped a hard single up the middle that struck Ames in the lower back in the fourth.

After being checked by trainers, Ames (5-2) stayed on the mound into the fifth and took the loss.

Reliever Chris Brookey got the win for Corvallis, throwing 2/3 of an inning in relief of starter Ryan Platt, who didn’t get out of the fifth.

The teams continue the series at 6:30 tonight and wrap the weekend up with a 1:05 p.m. contest on Sunday.

Corvallis 6, Wenatchee 2

WENATCHEE 001 010 000 — 2 9 4

CORVALLIS 000 220 20x — 6 12 0

Ames, Stumetz (5), Fassold (7), Bator (8) and Aielli. Platt, Brookey (5), Osich (6), Nichols (8), Carrillo (9) and Burg. WP: Brookey (2-0). LP: Ames (5-2). 2B: Edman (W), Lotti (C), Stalker (C).

Hits: W 9 (Montplaisir, Escobar, Gebbers 2, Patterson, Zirkle, Edman, Redal 2). C 12 (Cherry, Lotti, Clontz 2, Melker 2, Burg 2, Stalker 3, Hogan).

RBIs: W 2 (Gebbers 2). C 6 (Melker, Stalker 4, Hogan).