WALLA WALLA, Wash.  A five-run, two-out fifth inning lifted Whitman from a one-run deficit and led the Blues to an eventual 7-2 victory Thursday afternoon over visiting Lewis & Clark College in a non-conference baseball game at Borleske Stadium.

The big knock in the fifth inning for Whitman (12-15) came from Tyler Lewis whose bases-loaded double to the bottom of the center-field fence cleared the bags and signaled the end for the Pioneers (5-21).

Adrian Vela, who kicked off the two-out rampage with a single into left field, had already come around to score on pinch-hitter David Johnson's drop-in single with the bases full.

Lewis' double plated Alex Behrman, Anthony Lim -- both of whom worked their at-bats for free passes -- and Johnson. Lewis was able to race home from second to add the fifth run on a single deep into center from the next batter, Cole Edwards.

An RBI-single by Brett Williams, scoring David Johnson, in the seventh added Whitman's final run of the game.

It was Lewis who initiated the opening run in the afternoon for the Blues, leading off the bottom of the third with a single in front of the Pios' center fielder. A bunt single down the third-base line from Edwards pushed Lewis to second, and a wild pitch moved both runners up a base.

A sacrifice fly from Lucas Thrun allowed Lewis to finish his circuit and knot the game up at 1-1 after Lewis & Clark had taken the lead in the top half of the inning.

The Pios would strike right back after Lewis' run, however, generating three consecutive singles followed by an RBI-walk against Whitman starting pitcher John Lyon.

Steven Ainsworth came on in relief of Lyon with Pios standing at each bag, with just one out, and with the top of the order stepping into the box.

The moment wasn't too big for Ainsworth as he mowed down Matthew Donovan on strikes, then induced Nick Lockwood into an inning-ending fly out to center field.

The Whitman bats caught fire shortly after Ainsworth's momentum-changing frame, but he and three other Blues pitchers made certain the Pios' bats never found flame over the final five innings.

Ainsworth combined with Patrick Stanton, Garett Atkinson and Milo Mincin in limiting Lewis & Clark to three hits and a walk while fanning eight and not allowing any base runner to reach second base.

Mincin's three-strikeout ninth punctuated the job the pen had done in shutting down the Pios.

Ainsworth (2-3) went 2 1/3 innings and picked up the win, while Stanton, Atkinson and Mincin pitched one inning each.

The Blues racked up 13 hits and added six more base runners via walks. The bottom of the order, the 7-8-9 hitters, collected eight of the Whitman hits and five RBIs.

Lewis and Edwards finished with three hits apiece with David Johnson adding a pair after entering the game as a pinch hitter and staying in the lineup as the designated hitter.

The Pios entered the game intent on a 'staff day,' changing pitchers after the first, second and fourth innings. The next pitcher, Connor Eggleston (1-3) picked up two outs in the fifth inning but he would also be charged with three of the five runs in that frame and eventually take the loss.

Northwest Conference action is up next for Whitman as it welcomes the University of Puget Sound to Borleske for a three-game set over the weekend. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 12 p.m., the same time Sunday's single game is slated to begin.