Knights baseball: Talent, chemistry, friendship carry Corvallis to another league title

For home games, pitchers were asked to be to Goss by 3 p.m. and be dressed and ready for workouts with assistant coach Youngjin Yoon. But it wasn’t just the pitchers who wanted to get more of the experience of the collegiate summer wood-bat team.

“We had position players coming into the clubhouse early, too. Most of the time that was always the plan. These guys are here at 1:30, 2 just kicking it and enjoying each other,” Knight said, adding that the absence of the scalding heat experienced in 2021 was a likely factor. The Goss clubhouse, he added, is generally about 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature.

“But these guys just really enjoyed spending time with each other, and that part of it was neat to see. They really care about each other and they got along really well.”

That chemistry was evident on the field and off.

What was it about the program and the leadership that led to the players buying in to working hard?

“I think it’s just some dawgs in this group. We want to get after it and it has a lot to do with Yoon leading us. He teaches the mentality that you have to put in your best effort so then you can win at the end,” said Knights pitcher Kaden Segel, from Linn-Benton Community College. “And you can tell how long he’s been here and how many rings he has. We just like to get after it, we follow Yoon and it shows on the field.”

Segel, son of Knights Baseball Club CEO Dan Segel, credits the team success to the chemistry that’s fostered by the coaching staff — Knight, Yoon, associate head coach Ed Knaggs and pitching coach Beau Kerns — from the start of the season.

“We talked about it today, how grateful we are,” Kaden Segel said. “We became best friends over the summer, so it just made it easy and fun to get after it with the guys you like.”

Matt Scott, a Stanford freshman this fall who started Monday’s championship game on the mound, said looking back that the hard work was worth it when you see it pay off.

“Not just for the team, but everybody individually got a whole lot better. And the guys we met along the way was definitely worth it,” Scott said. “I think from day one we were all chasing the ring. Coach Yoon would talk about ‘the ring’s close, the ring’s close, we’ve got to get closer.’”

Yoon, pitching coach for Bushnell University in Eugene, said it’s difficult to get players to buy in to putting in the extra work. But they did this summer, just as they have in years past.

“Every day showing up earlier, hard work, that’s about it. When you work hard you get the results,” said Yoon, who has been with the Knights since 2016. “They really want to win. They really want to develop and continue to get better. We try to help all the time.”

One last time

Crescent Valley High alum and current University of Portland outfielder Briley Knight, son of Brooke Knight, played his last game with the Knights on Monday after four summers with the club.

His final at-bat, in the eighth inning, produced a run-scoring sacrifice fly that gave Corvallis its final tally of the season.

In the midst of the championship celebration, Knight posed for a photo with Portland and Knights teammates Joey Gartrell, Spencer Scott and Ethan Loveless.

Knight was asked about that photo opportunity afterward and being able to share the title and experience with them.

“It’s amazing, and it’s funny you say that because it’s the number-one thing that matters to me, is it’s the guys that I’m always closest with, especially in the spring,” Knight said. “I’m hoping this will light a fire in all of us and kind of keep the mojo going. I’m really confident in our team this spring. I think we’re going to do some really big things this year. I think now we’re all on the same wave and it’s going to be awesome.”

The Pilots finished this past season at 32-23, collecting the program’s most wins since 2010.

Monday’s game also marked likely the final game as coach and player on the same team for Brooke and Briley Knight. Their run together with the Corvallis squad ended with four WCL titles.

“It was bittersweet as hell and it’s the last time I’ll ever play for the Knights, it’s my fourth time and I’m out of eligibility,” Briley Knight said. “So it’s definitely a bittersweet moment for me. I’m going to soak it in.”

The realization grabbed the emotions of Brooke Knight.

“Don’t ask me that question,” he said with a chuckle as his eyes began to well up. “It’s really special. It’s probably the last game I’ll ever manage him. He’s a good human being.”

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