GRAND JUNCTION, COL. -- Wabash Valley built an early 10-1 lead, then spent the rest of the night holding off San Jacinto North, Tex. to post a 10-8 win on Monday in the second round of the NJCAA Junior College World Series here.

WVC (58-7), the No. 2 seed, improved to 2-0 in the double-elimination tournament, and will next face Crowder, Mo. on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. CDT.

Tenth-seeded San Jac (45-19) scored the final seven runs of the game, including a single tally in the ninth inning to account for the final margin. But with the bases loaded and two out, WVC reliever Beau Coffman, the third hurler of the day, induced a ground ball that second baseman Ethan Sitzman scooped up to complete the escape.

"That was two heavyweights going at it," said Warrior Hall of Fame coach Rob Fournier of the game. "We threw a heck of a punch out there at first then they responded with a couple of hammers. Then it came down to just making plays.

"I was real impressed with our composure. We knew we were going to get a punch but it's all about handling it."

San Jac delivered the punch with two runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth to close to within 10-7 on the scoreboard.

From there, the WVC bullpen handled things by dodging repeated bullets. San Jac stranded eight baserunners over the last four innings, including three as the game ended with the grounder.

Coffman, who came on with one out in the eighth inning, immediately got a double play, the Warriors second of the day, to get out of trouble. Even though the ninth inning pushed him to the brink, Fournier never wavered on his 6-foot-2 sophomore righthander.

He is a tremendous competitor," Fournier said. "He has been there before. He was the right guy for the right spot. No way was I going to go out there. He was not going to let me take him out."

It was Scott Harper who preceded Coffman out of the bullpen. He went four innings, and after surrendering hits to the first three Gators he faced – including a 3-run homer to Jordan Williams – Coffman settled down. He struck out five in a row at one point in the middle innings.

"I wasn't sinking (the ball) in the first inning but came out in the second inning and started working the changeup down to lefties, and the sinker was moving really well," said Harper, who picked up the win.

The Warriors scored nine runs in the first inning, despite getting only three hits from the 13 hitters that faced five different San Jacinto pitchers used in the frame

Two runs came on bases-loaded hit batters, another came with a bases-loaded walk. There were three RBI hits: a one-run single by Brian Kalmer, a two-run from Preston, and a 3-run triple by

Wabash Valley came up big twice in the field late to keep the Gators at bay. One play came in the top of the seventh inning, when San Jac tried to double steal a run. Catcher Knox Preston's initial throw sailed wide, forcing shortstop Bradke Lohry to five for the ball. As Harold Coll barreled towards home, Lohry had to get to his feet and rifle the ball back in to Preston who applied the tag to at least get the lead runner.

"When I let the throw go, I cut the ball a little bit," said Preston. "Bradke picked me up big time. I made a pretty bad throw."

From Lohry's viewpoint, "I did my best to keep (the throw) in the infield. I made a good throw back to him. He made the pick and made the tag."

Coll was a victim again on the basepaths in the ninth inning. After doubling to center to score Alan Shibley to make it 10-8, Coll drifted too far off second on a fielder's choice ground ball. An alert Lohry flipped to second baseman Ethan Sitzman to make the tag.

The basepath was the only place San Jacinto's Coll could be stopped. The Gator shortstop was unstoppable at the plate, where he hit for the cycle in a 5-for-5 day.

Coll doubled to right field in the first, hit a solo homer in the third (one of four the Gators hit on the day), singled in the fourth and tripled in the seventh.

Wabash Valley did not hit any home runs in the game, but Preston and Myles Austin each had two hits.

WARRIOR EXTRAS... Monday's win against St. Jacinto North evened the World Series series between the two at 1-1. San Jac beat WVC, 12-5, in their first meeting in the 2017 tourney... The game was interrupted briefly in the second inning for a flyover by two fighter jets as part of the Memorial Day festivities. Players from both teams spilled onto the field to watch the proceedings... Attendance for the game at Sam Suplizio Field was 6,233, and that figure continued to grow throughout the day, topped by the 10,000-plus in attendance for the evening finale and post-game fireworks show.