WALLA WALLA, Wash. -
Garrett Runyan delivered a walk-off base hit to help the Whitman College baseball team erase a three-run deficit in the ninth inning and lift the Blues to a 4-3 win over Pacific in the opener of the Northwest Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at Borleske Stadium.
The thrilling victory now puts the Blues in the winner's bracket of the double elimination tournament. They will play the winner of Willamette and Whitworth on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
The game featured largely a pitcher's duel with Pacific staffing the game and the Blues riding the arm of Jack Hostetler. Whitman's bats were quiet for the first eight innings and it was Hostetler's solid outing that kept his team in the game. He worked eight complete innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with 12 strikeouts, none more critical than when he fanned two Boxers to get out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the eighth inning.
Recently named NWC Player of the Year CJ Colyer (2 H, 2 R, 2 RBI) did the damage at the plate for Pacific with two solo homeruns, the second in the top of the ninth to help the Boxers take a comfortable 3-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.
Colyer came on to pitch in the eighth but was tagged with loss when he was unable to find the zone in the ninth against a very disciplined series of Whitman plate appearances. Brandon Ting led off the inning with a base hit before Halen Otte reached on a hit by pitch. Back-to-back walks to Nate Korahais then to Mateus Conaway with the bases loaded finally put the Blues on the board. Both in bases loaded situations, Whitman tied the game after Nick Teng walked and Back Maguire, now facing Harmon, also was hit by a pitch to tie the game.
Two batters later with two outs and the bases still loaded, Runyan ripped a pitch through the infield and walked the Blues off for a sensational win.
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