INA, Ill. -- Wabash Valley extended its' winning streak to a season-high 13 games by sweeping Rend Lake in a Great Rivers Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader here on Sunday.
The fourth-ranked Warriors benefited from quick starts in both games to win 9-5, and 4-1. WVC improved to 39-9 overall and 18-2 in GRAC games. Rend Lake fell to 18-25 and 7-15 in the league.
In the opener, two walks and a hit loaded the bases for the Warriors, with nobody out, in the top of the first. Cleanup hitter Jorge Rodriguez then hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run. Bruce Jellison followed with an RBI single, and the Warriors were ahead to stay, 2-0.
A four-run second turned out to be enough for the visitors, now ahead 6-0. Richard Bonomolo, Jr.'s SAC fly plated one, followed by an RBI double by Nicklas Williams. A two-out bases-loaded walk to Patrick Graham came later in the frame.
Rend Lake scored three in the fifth to close to within 6-3, but the Warrior offense went back to work in the seventh, adding two runs to make it 8-3.
Isaias Villarreal picked up an RBI by reaching on a fielder's choice ground ball. Luke Odden followed with a SAC fly for the other run.
In the eighth, Williams added his second RBI of the game, a single to account for the ninth Warrior run.
Rend Lake added single runs in the seventh and eighth.
Agnel Miranda started on the mound, and went 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and five hits while striking out five and walking one.
Reliever Luke Leverton then worked the next 2 2/3, followed by Brock Lucas (1/3 of an inning) and Sam Mettert (1 2/3).
In the nitecap, the Warriors made the most of only four hits. But they received 10 walks from Rend Lake pitching to score twice in the first inning, and two more in the seventh.
A walk to Jon Legrande, a double by Bonomolo, and a sacrifice fly from Williams put the Warriors on the board in the first. Bonomolo then scored on an RBI single by Michael Lareau to make it 2-0.
Rend Lake scored its' lone run in the fourth to halve the deficit, at 2-1.
WVC scored two insurance runs in the seventh, thanks in large part to two errors and two walks. Legrande hit a sacrifice fly for the third Warrior run of the game, and when Mack Mitchell walked with the bases full – after previous hitter Williams had been intentionally passed to load the bases with one out – the Warrior lead stretch to 4-1.
Louis Phillipe Langevin, making his fourth start of the year, picked up the win for the Warriors, improving to 4-1. He allowed only one hit, struck out nine and walked only two.
Manuel De Garcia came on in the sixth and gave only one hit while fanning two over the final two innings.
Williams' three RBIs on the day pushed his team-leading total to 61.
Aaron Biddle's Warriors play their final non-conference game of the regular season at home on Tuesday against Volunteer State (29-18). The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT.
The next-to-last full GRAC series is this weekend against Southeastern (20-22, 4-15). The first game is Thursday at Harrisburg, followed by a 12-noon doubleheader at Fournier Field on Saturday.