WALLA WALLA, Wash. – In a game that seemed like it may never get played due to weather, both Whitman College and George Fox University took advantage after delays. On a day that Joseph Zimmer's hitting streak was ended at 15 consecutive, the Missionaries had other things to celebrate. Whitman used five runs in the final two innings of Sunday's opener to finish off the Bruins 5-4 in walk-off fashion.
 
Saturday late afternoon, game one of the three game series began at 4:15 p.m., roughly four hours after its original scheduled start. After playing four scoreless innings, the game was called due to rain and rescheduled to resume Sunday at 10 a.m.
 
Fox (10-8, 6-4 NWC) jumped out in front 1-0 in the sixth inning on Sunday and added two more in the top of the eighth before the game was again suspended. After the teams took the field again, Whitman (8-13, 3-4 NWC) took advantage, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game 3-3.
 
The Bruins retaliated with a run in the top of the ninth, but the Missionaries were not going to go quietly. After Alex Behrman reached base on a base hit to center field, Braden Hussey put a beautiful sacrifice bunt down to move pinch runner, Cole Edwards over to second. Zimmer was intentionally walked and Jake Wishart was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. With one out, Adrian Vela crushed a line drive into center field that was caught for the inning's second out; no runners were able to advance.
 
Paul Heywood stepped to the plate with two outs and the senior seized the moment on the first pitch, sending a hard-hit ground ball into the gap between shortstop and third base, scoring Edwards and Zimmer and sending the Whits off with a walk-off 5-4 victory.
 
Nick Johnson got the start on the mound Sunday morning and threw four brilliant innings. He surrendered just one hit and collected four strikeouts, but after the game resumed the Missionaries turned to Robert Maislin who faced 16 batters in a 3-2/3 innings stretch. Maislin gave up three runs to the Bruins, but the Whit offense stayed within striking distance of Fox. Garrett Atkinson ultimately finished the game and collected the win; he threw just over an inning, giving up one run, but doing enough to keep the Bruins in check.
 
It took close to 22 hours from start to finish, with the delays, but it was well worth the wait for the Missionaries who rattled off their fifth consecutive win, their longest such streak since April 2014.
 
The second game that was also rescheduled for Sunday, but due to weather was called in the third inning. The final two games of the series are set to be played tomorrow morning, beginning at 10 a.m. with the final game of the series to follow.