MT. CARMEL, Ill. -- Wabash Valley's winning streak stands at six games after two home non-conference wins to start the week.
The Warriors, who moved up two spots to No. 6 in this week's NJCAA Division I poll, defeated Columbia State, Tennessee, 15-5, on Tuesday at Fournier Field, one day after an 11-9 win over the Oakland City JV team.
Aaron Biddle's team improved to 32-9 with the wins.
WVC spotted Columbia State (17-18) a 3-0 lead in the second inning before roaring back with six runs of its' own for a lead it never relinquished. The Warriors added single runs in the fourth and fifth, two in the sixth, and five more runs in the bottom of the seventh that ended the game early via the 10-run rule.
Jon Legrande led the Wabash Valley at the plate with three hits and four RBIs. He drove in Isaias Villarreal with a hit in both the second inning and sixth then finished the game in the seventh with a base hit that scored Daniel Contreras and Luke Odden to make the final score 15-5.
Other RBIs came from: DH Bruce Jellison (3), Richard Bonomolo, Jr. (2), Villarreal (2), Odden (1), and Patrick Graham (1).
Three Warriors worked on the hill. Sophomore righthander Brock Lucas made his first start and went 2 2/3 innings, followed by Mike Sokol (1 2/3) and a 2 2/3 innings scoreless stint by Manuel De Gracia. Both Sokol and De Gracia picked off runners.
Columbia State's biggest blow of the day came in the first when Charger sophomore Abbott Lawrence cracked his seventh home run of the season, a three-run shot against Lucas that put the visitors briefly in the lead.
On Monday, the Warriors had to hang on for an 11-9 win over Oakland City University. The JV Mighty Oaks scored seven runs in the top of the ninth inning before Aidan Deakins was hailed from the bullpen to get the final out, a strikeout, and earn his first save of the year.
It had been smooth sailing for Wabash Valley until that point. Aaron Biddle's club scored three runs in the first, added two more in the third, four in the fourth and two more in the sixth for an 11-2 lead.
Jorge Rodriguez hit his sixth home run of the season to give WVC a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the third. He finished the day 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBIs.
Four other Warriors – Legrande, Bonomolo, Jellison, and Yamil Torres – each drove home one run.
Deakins was the sixth pitcher used by the Warriors. Charez Butcher worked two scoreless innings with the start to earn the win. He is now 3-0.
Following Butcher came Cade Schneider (two innings), Maddox Pennington (1), McGwire Taylor (1), and Isaac Seeger (2/3 inning) before Deakins.
Wabash Valley returns to Great Rivers Athletic Conference play on Thursday with a home game against Kaskaskia (20-15, 8-7). The first pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. CDT at Fournier Field.
Saturday, the two teams will switch sites and finish the series with a 12-noon doubleheader at Kaskaskia.
WVC currently leads the GRAC standings (15-2 league mark) by three games on the loss side over second-place John A. Logan (13-5). The Blue Devils are in fifth place.