PENDLETON — Walla Walla Community College’s Kalani Omoto added the exclamation point to the Warriors sweep of Blue Mountain Community College in NWAACC East region baseball action here Saturday.
Omoto tossed a no-hit, scoreless game to lead the Warriors to a 10-0 win in the night cap, and coupled with the 13-3 win in the opener, give the Warriors a sweep and run their East record to 17-7.
Omoto struck out one, walked three, threw 113 pitches, but only faced 23 batters — two over the minimum — in pitching his seven-inning masterpiece.
“I can’t say enough about Kalani,” Warrior coach Dave Meliah said. “I’m pretty sure that is the first no-hitter in Warrior baseball history. He didn’t have his best stuff, but he just competed his tail off. Corey (Morris) had a couple of great (defensive) plays at short and Trevor (Jones) had a diving catch in center. You can’t have something special like a no-no without great defensive plays behind you. He (Omoto) really deserved something like this.”
Jesse Houser broke open a 1-0 game with a three-run double in the Warrior third to run the score to 4-0 and give Omoto more than enough run support. Seth Wolfe keyed a five-run Warrior fifth with a two-run single and the Warriors cruised home for a 10-0 win.
The Warrior offense backed Omoto with an 11-hit attack. Wolfe, Robinson and Cody Price each collected two hits.
In the opener, the Warriors played long ball. Jarod Gonzales started it with a three-run bomb in a three-run Warrior third that erased a 1-0 Timberwolf lead and gave WWCC the lead. Wolfe ripped a two-run triple in the six-run Warrior fourth and J.J. Robinson culminated the inning with his 10th home run of the year — a three-run shot that gave the Warriors an insurmountable 9-1 lead after four. WWCC pounded out nine hits in posting the 13-3 seven-inning win. Wolfe, Gonzales, and Trevor Jones each collected two hits in the Warrior win.
“We were efficient offensively with runners in scoring position,” Meliah said of the first game win.
The Warriors, with four East region games left, clinched a playoff spot with the sweep.
“We clinched a spot in the East Region playoffs,” Meliah commented. “The sacrifices that these guys have made and the dedication that they have shown the whole year is starting to pay off.”
The Warriors travel to Ontario to face East-leading Treasure Valley (19-5) Wednesday.
