WALLA WALLA, Wash.  A matinee Monday doubleheader at Borleske Stadium turned into a bash-fest for Whitman as the Blues pounded out a dozen hits each in their 7-4 and 12-6 victories over visiting Lewis & Clark College.

Originally scheduled for a Saturday twin bill, inclement weather pushed the games to Monday with the opener's start time moved up to 11 a.m.

A four-run fifth inning helped seal the deal in Game 1, the only contest of the two that went in the books as a Northwest Conference game. Whitman's victory lifted its league record to 12-9 and into third place within conference standings -- one game behind second-place Linfield, a half-game ahead of fourth-place Willamette, and two games ahead of fifth-place George Fox -- while the Pioneers drop to 5-16.

The top four teams in the final regular season standings, with one weekend left to play, qualify for the NWC postseason tournament.

Whitman put up crooked numbers in the initial four innings of Game 2 to break out to an 11-2 lead. The afternoon-game victory leaves the Blues' overall record at 18-17 and Lewis & Clark's at 9-27.

Whitman jumped on the board first in the early game, getting an RBI single from Brett Williams that plated Alex Behrman for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.

The Pios picked up a pair of runs in their fourth off Blues starter Steven Ainsworth who, through the first three innings, had handcuffed the L&C batters.

The deciding fifth inning got its start with a lead-off single by Anthony Lim. A sacrifice bunt, a walk, a single and an RBI-walk to Kyle Reisman pushed Lim home for the tying run.

With the bags still juiced L&C reliever Zac Merzlak hit his first batter, Behrman, to push in the go-ahead run, and then Matthew Sox followed with a two-RBI single that brought home two more.

An RBI-single in the seventh by Sox added another run for Whitman, and Joseph Zimmer's bomb that nearly cleared the trees behind the left-field wall in the eighth picked up the seventh run.

Ainsworth gave way to Milo Mincin at the start of the eighth when he was unceremoniously welcomed by a home run from Matthew Donovan to start the frame. A re-focused Mincin didn't allow the ball to leave the infield the rest of the inning, picking up one of the outs with a swinging strikeout.

A lead-off single in the Pios' ninth turned into another run but Mincin finished off the frame to earn his fourth save of the season.

Ainsworth (3-4) picked up the win after scattering six hits and three walks over his seven full innings of work. He fanned five and allowed just the pair of runs in the L&C fourth.

Sox finished the early game with three singles and three RBIs. Zimmer and Behrman each added a pair of hits and one RBI apiece.

Game 2, a non-conference match-up, was deemed a 'staff day' by both teams as the Blues and Pios combined to march out 14 different pitchers, with only three staying on the bump for more than one inning.

Including the pitchers, Whitman put 21 different players across the lines -- several entering the game as mid-inning defensive replacements or relievers to allow for curtain calls of the Whitman seniors playing their finals game at Borleske.

Jimmy Smiley (a junior, heading off to finish his 3-2 engineering program) got the start for Whitman and pitched a perfect first inning. The pre-arranged staff day allowed Smiley -- after the Blues scored four runs in the bottom of the first -- to earn the victory.

Lim's lead-off double in the bottom of the first got the wheels spinning.

A walk earned by Court Osborn, one of his three during the game, put runners at first and second, and a Zimmer single into short right field loaded the bases.

Lim, Osborn and Zimmer are three of Whitman's 11 seniors.

Kevin Nakamura's RBI-ground out brought Lim in and an RBI single by senior Alex Rainsford knocked in Osborn. Jasper Crusberg, a senior catcher, singled to push Zimmer home.

The fourth run scored on Cole Edwards' RBI ground out.

The Blues scored three more in the second -- behind just one hit.

Jerick Nomura reached to start the frame after getting hit by an offering from reliever Connor Eggleston.

A stolen base, walks to Lim and Osborn, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Zimmer allowed for two more runs, with the final run of the frame scoring on a Nakamura RBI single.

Whitman added two in the third, and two more in the fourth -- highlighted by Nomura's triple down the right-field line – to forge its big lead.

Meanwhile on the mound, Braden Hussey and John Lyon were dealing, surrendering just two runs over 3 2/3s innings. Tristan Perrin came in for Lyon, followed by Aiden Miller, Mason Milkey, Collin Anderson and Charlie Carmichael.

The Pios scratched for a few runs off the cast of arms, but were likely never going to catch the Blues, who added their 12th run in the eighth on an RBI single by Nomura that brought home Edwards, who had doubled to lead off the inning.

Seven different Whitman batters registered an RBI in the game, with Zimmer, Nakamura and Nomura picking up two each.

Osborn may have had the line of the day, however -- walk/run scored, walk/run scored, hit by pitch/run scored, walk…left stranded at second base.

The Blues and Pios played four games over Sunday and Monday with Whitman winning three of four.

The final weekend of the Blues' regular season is Saturday and Sunday at Linfield. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday followed by a single game Sunday that will close out the regular season.