Corvallis leads WCCBL in five statistical categories

By Brooks Hatch
Gazette-Times reporter

It’s not by accident that the Corvallis Knights have the premier pitching staff in the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League for the second year in a row.

President Dan Segel and general manager/manager Brooke Knight envisioned a formidable, deep staff when they began to assemble the 2008 team that has already clinched the West Division championship and best record in the league, sewing up home-field advantage throughout the upcoming playoffs.

“The plan was to get deeper. The past few years we’ve had great pitching, but have been short on depth,” Segel said Wednesday in recounting their offseason strategy. “In the summer, you want the kids to get work, but keep innings down as most of these kids have thrown considerable innings in the spring.

“We also wanted to bring in a few more experienced arms (junior pitchers) this year. Quality depth, that’s getting deep, not just numbers, and I think we did an excellent job.”

That’s an understatement, to say the least, even though projected ace Nick Haughian of the University of Washington signed with the Baltimore Orioles after being drafted in the ninth round and righty Jerad Thompson has missed most of the year with an arm injury after fanning eight in four innings in two early appearances.

The Knights (32-15, 28-11) had five pitchers selected to the league’s all-star game. They lead the league in every team statistical category, and starters Jared Eskew (1.32), Eddie Orozco (1.45), Jon Berger (1.58) and Liam Baron (2.75) rank 1-2-4-8 in earned-run average.

Throw in Taylor Starr, the league’s premier closer with eight saves, and bevy of set-up men/situational relievers, and you have a staff whose 2.32 ERA is more than a run per game lower than second-place Wenatchee’s (3.47) and nearly two runs per game lower than the other six teams, whose ERAs are 4.10 or higher.

Lefty Josh Osich (3-0, 2.61) will attempt to extend that legacy today. The Oregon State sophomore-to-be is the Knights’ scheduled starter in a 6:35 p.m. encounter with Bellingham (17-22) in the opener of the final regular-season homestand.

The Knights have allowed three runs or less in 27 of their 39 league games and have a WCCBL-best seven shutouts and league-high 13 saves. Opponents are hitting just .208 (30 points lower than runner-up Wenatchee), the Knights have the most strikeouts (343) and have allowed 87 fewer runs than Bellingham, 97 fewer than Kitsap and 108 fewer than Bend, their West Division rivals.

“We have been lucky enough to have a group of young men who care about professionalism, a daily plan and the work ethic it takes to be successful,” Knight said. “There was also a level of unselfishness and a willingness to fulfill certain roles when called upon, and perform to the best of their ability.”

Knight credits pitching coach Jason Hawkins for the attention to detail and daily preparation that has kept the entire staff sharp even though players sometimes go 4-to-5 days between appearances.

“He has provided the necessary platform for our guys to grow and improve,” Knight said of Hawkins, a former assistant at the University of Redlands who will become the head coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles after the season. “He is a great communicator, clear and candid.”

Washington State senior-to-be Alex Burg has caught most of the games and also earned Knight’s praise.

“Alex has commanded our staff as well as any young man I have been around,” said Knight, a catcher himself at OSU in his playing days. “He calls a solid game, is extremely athletic, and has effectively led this group by example.”