The Warriors take the opener of their Saturday baseball doubleheader.
Walla Walla Community College split a doubleheader with Wenatchee Valley Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field, picking up a 6-4 victory before dropping the nightcap, 8-6.
WWCC spotted the Knights a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the opener before scoring a run in the home half of the frame and added three more runs in the third. A Kealen Martin grounder to shortstop put Walla Walla on the board.
Martin connected for a game-tying double into the right-center field gap in the third inning. Danny Robinson contributed a two-out single and Cody Garza was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded that resulted in a 4-2 Warrior lead.
The scored held until the bottom of the seventh, Robinson led off with a walk and scored on a two-run homer to left by Dimick Wood, his second round-tripper of the season.
Wenatchee got a two-out, two-run bomb from Dalton Harum in the ninth inning, but would not draw closer.
WWCC starter Caleb Burnham threw eight-plus innings to earn the win.
“Caleb Burnham threw a great game in game one,” WWCC coach Dave Meliah said. “He kept them off balance and really battled back after a tough first inning to give our offense a chance to score some runs.”
Martin, Robinson, Brian O’Rourke, and Quentin Lafontaine backed him up with two hits apiece.
In the nightcap, the Warriors built a three-run, 6-3 lead through the first five innings before the Knights came roaring back for five runs in the seventh and eighth to notch the win.
The Warriors benefitted from some wild pitching from Knights pitcher Zach Townsend in the first, scoring a pair of runs on a double from O’Rourke, three walks and a hit batter.
The Knights held a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the second when the Warriors answered with a two more runs thanks to a two-RBI single from Wood. Wood, who finished with five RBI in the game, drove in another pair of runs on a single in the fifth.
But the Warriors’ bats went silent from there on out, aside from a Lowden Smith double in the sixth.
Pitchers for both teams struggled with accuracy in the second game, combining for 22 walks and four hit batters.
“We played well for 15 out of 18 innings,” Mehlia said. Unfortunately those last three innings of the second game cost us.
“Too many walks by our pitchers and we couldn’t take advantage of all of the walks that there pitchers gave to us.”
First Game
WVC200000002—4102
WWCC10300020x—6100
Cardinel, Lang (5), Robins (7) and Osaria; Burnham, Ogats (9) and Wood.
HR — WVC: Harum; WWCC: Wood.
Hits — WVC: Harum 4, Earl 2, McKay, Townsend, Osoria, Rockwell; WWCC: O’Rourke 2, Robinson 2, Lafontaine 2, Martin 2, Coffey, Wood.
Second Game
WVC102000320—8101
WWCC202020000—675
Townsend, Benedetti (5), Hanson (7) and Britt; Washburn, Elu (7), Baldwin (8), Kaelber (9) and Wood.
HR — WVC: Earl, Harum.
Hits — WVC: McKay, Mitchell 2, Earl 2, Harum, Kley, Britt, Newell, Vullo; WWCC: O’Rourke 2, Martin, Larson, Smith, Wood 2.
Union Bulletin
