PITCHING, PITCHING, PITCHING The weather outside may say otherwise, but the Knights' fifth season in Corvallis is rapidly approaching. We've bolstered our pitching staff with four signings in the past month to help us contend for our fifth consecutive West Division crown and a West Coast League championship to bookend our 2008 title. Righthander Nick Hoover of UC Irvine will return for his third season with the Knights. He's a 6-1oot-1, 204-pounder who was 2-1, 2.63 with the club in 2010. A junior with the Anteaters, he will join current assistant coach Billy Clontz and former infielder Josh Hogan in the exclusive 3-year Knight fraternity. Hoover will be joined by two other Anteaters: Lefty Mark Trentacosta, a 6-4, 220-pound junior from Orange, Calif., who played at Golden West Jr. College, and 6-1, 180-pound freshman righty Sebastian Santos, the Cy Young Award winner on his Murieta Valley High School team in 2010 before signing with the Anteaters. The other new pitching signee is Kyle McNutt, a 6-5, 240-pound freshman at Riverside Community College. He is from Redlands, Calif., the hometown of former Knights' pitcher Tommy Hanson, now with the Atlanta Braves; infielder Robby Hudson, at triple-A Charlotte in the White Sox organization; and returnee Eric Young of University of Delaware, who also is joining Hoover in the aforementioned 3-year Knight club. The offense gets a boost with the return of 5-11, 180-pound Washington State sophomore infielder J.K. Dykes, and 5-9, 170-pound Seattle University sophomore infielder Nate Roberts. Dykes hit .300, with six RBIs, for the Knights in 2010. Roberts played for the Moses Lake Pirates last summer and led the WCL with 36 RBIs and hit .335, the sixth-best average in the league. Corvallis also signed four players to 10-day contracts to fill the roster for the first week or so. They are infielder Griffin Boyd of Western Oregon, a 2010 Knight; first baseman Sean Myrom of Concordia; outfielder Nick Armenta of Portland; and pitcher Taylor Hill of Hawaii Pacific. OREGON ALL-STAR SERIES The Knights are hosting the Reser's All-Star series at Goss Stadium on June 18-19. It features Oregon's top 5A and 6A players; notable standouts from past games include former Knight Kevin Gunderson, current major-leaguers Kevin Gregg, Cole Gillespie and Darwin Barney, and former major-leaguers Harold Reynolds, Dale Murphy and John Jaha, among others. INTERN TEAM ANNOUNCED The Knights partnered with the Oregon State College of Business to assemble this year's intern team. Joining the club are Mariah Ellis, Erica Hohlt, Courtney Morgan and Matt Stuart. They`ll start working shortly, and are excited to push the Knights` organization to the next level! GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS! Season tickets are available at the Corvallis Knights downtown office, or online at corvallisknights.com. The 31-game Goss Stadium home schedule starts on June 7 against the new Klamath Falls Gems, and includes several very special events. - The WCL All-Star Game is set for 7:15 p.m. on July 26. The Home Run Derby begins at 5:30 p.m., and a fireworks display will follow the game. - The annual July 3 Fireworks Game against the Bend Elks. It`s sold out the past two years and should again this season. - The world-famous San Diego Chicken is coming to Goss Stadium on July 16. It`s his first appearance in Corvallis and you don`t want to miss the wacky antics of the most recognizable mascot in sports. The ZOOperstars!, two $1,000 Kids Dash for Cash Nights, Miser Mondays, Military Appreciation Night, Cowbell Night, Wilson Motors Night, Cap Night, Block 15 Thursdays, and lots of other fun nights are planned, so keep an eye on corvallisknights.com and future Knights e-newsletters for more information, and remember ... Go Knights!
