Walla Walla Community College’s baseball team entered its Northwest Athletic Conference Eastern Region baseball doubleheader with Columbia Basin on Saturday at Warrior Field in sole possession of second place in the league standings.
That fact held true after Saturday’s twin bill.
The visiting Hawks gutted out a 1-0, game-one victory in 10 innings to temporarily pull into a second-place tie before WWCC rattled the bats for a 15-5 rout in the nightcap.
Walla Walla is now 16-8 in league and 26-14 overall. It trails league-leading Treasure Valley (18-6) by two games.
Saturday’s first game proved to be a pitcher’s duel between the Warriors’ Clayten Ayres and CBC’s Jacob Gleichman. Both exited the game after 7 1/3 innings of work.
Spencer Binnion’s one-out RBI single in the 10th proved to be the difference.
“The first game was just a really good college baseball game,” WWCC coach Dave Meliah said. “Both Clayten and (Gleichman) threw their tails off. Both teams had some chances and the defenses made plays. Ultimately, they got the big hit and we didn’t. But it wasn’t a game that we hung our heads over.”
Walla Walla unloaded on Hawks’ pitching in game two. After spotting the visitors a 3-0, first-inning advantage, the Warriors scored four times in the second inning, twice in the third, eight times in the fifth inning and once more in the seventh to end the game due to the 10-run mercy rule.
Jarod Paul had three hits in the contest for WWCC including a lead-off home run in inning two.
Michael Kilpatrick, Cam Walker, Gibson McGeorge, and Cody Price had two hits apiece.
“You have to have a good mentality to come back from a tough defeat and obviously we had that,” Meliah said. “Cam (Walker) threw well after the first three batters. We were patient at the plate and got in good hitting counts.”
Walla Walla’s travels to Big Bend for a doubleheader on Wednesday.
