McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Looking to capitalize on its extra inning rally against Lewis & Clark, the Whitman College baseball team saw the tables reversed this afternoon, finding itself on the wrong side of a ninth-inning walk off homerun in a 6-5 loss at Linfield in the NWC Round Robin on Saturday.
 
The Blues (2-4) took a two-run lead into Linfield's half of the ninth inning but saw it erase in devastating fashion. Brian Cromwell took a Collin Anderson (0-1) pitch over the left field wall for a walkoff three-run homer.
 
The top of the Blues batting order had a solid afternoon. Brett Williams, Jerick Nomura and Lucas Thrun hit 1-2-3, each posting a hit, drawing a base on balls and scoring a run to help Whitman's cause. Tyler Lewis posted one hit and one RBI with Jake Wishart adding a hit and a run scored.
 
The Blues had been cruising through the early stages of game with starter Travis Craven allowing just one hit through three scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the Blues took advantage of a series of Wildcat miscues to score three runs in the first inning, then one inning later Williams drove Wishart home from second with an RBI hit up the middle and the Blues led 4-0.
 
The Wildcats would finally get to Craven starting with back-to-back RBI hits in the fourth inning, the first a triple from Tanner Earhart (2 H, 1 R, 1 RBI). Craven found himself in another jam one inning later, but did well to give up just the one run after three straight hits to start the inning loaded the bases with no outs.
 
Craven would pitch into the seventh inning before being lifted for Anderson. Craven finished with a final line of three runs, eight hits and six strikeouts in six and one-third innings.
 
The Blues gave themselves some breathing room with a run in the seventh to go up 5-3. David Johnson reached base on a fielding error then advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt from Whitman reliever Kameron Walker. Lewis would drive in Johnson with a base hit for Walker's one unearned run who kept the Blues in check the rest of the way and picked up the win in four innings of relief work.
 
Whitman continues tournament play on Sunday but will shift venues to Forest Grove, Ore. The Blues face Lewis & Clark (11:00 a.m.) once again and close against Puget Sound (2:00 p.m.).