'It just didn’t go our way' | Historic run for Corvallis Knights ends in disappointment (2024)

Following Wednesday’s loss to the Portland Pickles, ending the Corvallis Knights’ streak of seven straight West Coast League titles, infielder Ty Yukumoto summed up the feeling of the team.

“We didn’t want to be the team that screwed it up,” Yukumoto said. “Unfortunately, we are.”

The Knights fell 4-1 in the south division championship game to the Pickles, in a game where Corvallis couldn’t muster much offensively and had to make some clutch pitches to stay in it. Portland out-hit Corvallis 15-4.

It’s a disappointing end to a championship run that began in 2016. It’s a run that has led to the Knights sometimes being referred to as the “Evil Empire." The reign is over, but Portland coach Mark Magdaleno had nothing but praise for the longtime defending champs.

“That’s not the evil empire. That’s one of the greatest organizations in America. Top to bottom,” Magdaleno said. “(Head coach) Brooke Knight is a tough guy to compete against. His clubs are always disciplined… Seems like we run into them all the time. They’re just a quality program, a class program.”

Last year, the Pickles lost to the Knights in the championship game. As Magdaleno puts it, “to be a champ you have to beat the champ.”

Magdaleno had nothing but respect for the Knights, what they accomplished and how they handled themselves. So much so that after the game, he made sure to tell his team to follow suit.

“(I told them) to be classy,” Magdaleno said. “(The Knights) have been classy for seven straight years. We want to give the same type of respect and class to the champions. They’re champs and you can never take away what they’ve done.”

The question for the Knights is whether all of the success created pressure that became too much to handle? Did the weight of the expectations become too heavy?

Like Yukumoto said, they didn’t want to be the group that messed it up. Pitcher James DeCremer, an Oregon State player, thinks that could’ve been there, but it’s not an excuse.

“You hear guys coming from a lower-market team and then going to the Yankees and struggling a little bit, because they have a history of winning,” DeCremer said. “That might have happened here, but I’m not 100 percent sure. All I know is that we played our (butts) off and it just didn’t go our way.”

Even with that possibility, that didn’t mean the Knights shied away from the spotlight. They were ready for it.

“As a competitor, I dream of those situations. I want that. That’s all I care about,” DeCremer said. “As a competitor, when I see a team that’s won seven championships in a row, that’s the kind of team I want to play for. The result today wasn’t good but we all were embracing the moment and we all were looking forward to stuff like this.”

DeCremer had one of the few bright spots in the game for the Knights, coming into the game in the ninth with the bases loaded and nobody out and getting out of it.

On the offensive side, throughout the game, there wasn’t a sense from the team that they were pressing. The Knights were down in both games of the opening round, and came back to win both against Ridgefield.

Yukumoto felt the team was comfortable, but before they knew it, time was running out. DeCremer, from the dugout, didn’t sense the team was panicking. But they just couldn’t get enough going.

“It was a street fight. Who was tough enough to last the fight?” Magdaleno said. “We were just a little bit better and tougher today. But tomorrow they could be tougher and better than us. They’re good. It’s baseball.”

Maybe the Knights are the Yankees, and playing for them comes with instant attention. Maybe, as Magdaleno put it, the Knights are the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Pickles were the Raiders. Or maybe it was just a college summer ball team having an off night at a bad time. Any way you look at it, the result is the same — the streak is over.

Yukumoto was a member of last year’s title-winning team, and even though this year didn’t have the same feeling, reflecting on his time with the Knights is about more than just what happened at the end.

“Playing in Corvallis is like any dream that anyone in the WCL wants to be a part of,” Yukumoto said. “I got to play here last year and that was probably the best time I’ve ever had. It’s not really about winning, but it’s part of it. It’s just the culture we have here.”