WCL Corvallis Knights

Knights Sign Two Returnees, New Player

October 5, 2011 - West Coast League (WCL)
Corvallis Knights News Release


Junior pitcher Kyle Hart of the University of Redlands and sophomore outfielder Nate Blackham of Washington State will return for another season with the Corvallis Knights.

A 5-foot-11, 155-pound right-hander from Burbank, Calif., Hart was 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 42.2 innings in 13 regular-season games and 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 44.1 innings in 14 total games.

He was the winning pitcher in relief in the WCL Championship Series opener at Walla Walla, and he also helped clinch the West Division regular-season title with a one-hit, 10-strikeout gem over seven innings at Klamath Falls on Aug. 3.

Hart was battered for eight earned runs in two innings in a loss at Bellingham on July 18. But he did not allow more than one earned run and was 4-0 with a 1.18 ERA in his other 12 regular-season appearances and he pitched 1.2 shutout innings at Walla Walla in the finals.

Kyle was also a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III regional all-star at Redlands in 2011.

A native of Spokane, Blackham hit .318 in 19 at-bats early in the season for the Knights before sustaining a season-ending wrist injury while trying to make a diving catch in a game at Wenatchee. He hit. 400 in 34 games as a freshman at WSU and is expected to be a starting outfielder for the Cougars in 2012.

The Knights have also signed second baseman Jack Graham, a freshman at Youngstown (Ohio) State. A native of Cranberry Township, Penn., Graham was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 50th round as the final selection in the 2011 MLB draft.

He was a three-year letterman at Seneca Valley High in Harmony, Penn. His father, Brian Graham, played at UCLA and in the minors for several organizations, managed in the Cleveland farm system, coached with Cleveland and Baltimore, worked in Pittsburgh's front office, and is presently Baltimore's coordinator of minor-league instructions.



West Coast League Stories from October 5, 2011


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central