GRAND JUNCTION, Col. -- The baseball team with more escapes than the Great Houdini did it again Saturday night at the Juco World Series. 

Wabash Valley's latest act of legerdemain came in the bottom of the ninth inning when the Warriors scored two runs to pull out a 9-8 victory over Salt Lake, Utah. But even Patrick Graham's apparent two-out pinch-hit walk-off line drive to right field wasn't enough to seal the deal. 

A diving catch attempt by Salt Lake right fielder Preston Wingett, originally ruled a trap on the field, came under review even as a Warrior dogpile carried Graham off into the outfield.  

The review did not last long, and verified the original call, allowing the Warriors to make the celebration of their only lead of the night official. 

"This was an absolute fight," said Warrior coach Aaron Biddle. "I keep saying this is what I am most proud of them about is they don't quit. We fought our way back, stayed in it, and did just enough to pull it out in the end." 

Graham was willing to accept the results of the video review, though the freshman felt that the call in the moment was the right one. 

"After I hit that, I knew they were going to review it, no matter what" Graham said. "It was a close play. I thought (the ball) hit the ground so when the dogpile came on I thought we won the game. 

"When it came under review, we had the mindset that the game wasn't over. When we heard the play stands, we were super happy." 

That was not the only big moment of the turnaround ninth, however. 

Enter Nick Williams. 

The Warriors' slugging left fielder led off the ninth by unleashing a bomb into the thin Colorado air, well into the left-center field bleachers for his 14th home run of the season, a solo shot that tied the game at 8-all. 

"I knew it was important for us to get a leadoff runner," said Williams, aware of Salt Lake reliever Dillon Kelly's slider, but the recipient of a fast ball instead and he "let it go." 

"I kind of blacked out for a second and just let the game happen and not try to think too much. I'm glad things worked out the way they did." 

So did a small cluster of WVC faithful gathered behind the Warriors' third-base dugout, a boisterous sampling of the 8,169 fans in attendance at Sam Suplizio Field. 

Williams finished with two runs batted in, boosting his season total to 89, the fifth-highest total in NJCAA Division I and the leader among players in the tournament. 

The list of late-game heroics continues to grow for Biddle's Warriors, now 54-11 on the season. There is Lincoln Trail. There is Kaskaskia. And, of course, the miracle of Lake Land and the eighth-inning grand slam by Jorge Rodriguez which saved the season in the Region 24A winner-take-all game. 

Now you can add Salt Lake to the list.

Instead of attempting to quantify the value of any one rally, Biddle said "at the end of the day they're all important. If one of them doesn't happen, we're not sitting here having this conversation." 

It seemed almost fitting that Rodriguez, on the mend from a serious ankle injury, would have an impact on the game. Listed as day-to-day, he was not ready for field play based on what he showed coaches during a pre-game workout. 

Yet, his bat was still good enough for Biddle to use off the bench. Rodriguez delivered, too, with a lob that fell into centerfield for a base hit. 

"He's had a tough week," said Biddle of Rodriguez. "I put him in there and he did just enough to get us a hit and keep things rolling." 

Salt Lake (31-19) scored four runs off Warrior starter Jacob Frost in the third inning for a 4-0 lead. 

In the home half, the Warriors did their thing by stretching out four straight RBI hits to even the score at 4-4. 

The Bruins regained the lead in the fifth on the strength of designated hitter Jaxon Weatherly's three-run homer, his seventh of the year, off Luke Leverton, who took over after Frost had gone the first four. WVC sliced one off the deficit in the bottom of the fifth to pull to within 7-5. 

Both teams scored once in the seventh, then the Warriors scored again in the eighth to make it 8-7, setting the stage for the fireworks in the ninth. 

Louis Phillipe Langevin, the fourth hurler of the night, got the win to improve to 9-1. 

Salt Lake, the West District champions making a first-ever appearance in the Juco World Series, must regroup on Sunday night in an elimination game against No. 2 Johnson County, Kansas, which lost to Shelton State, Alabama, 6-5 in 10 innings. 

Wabash Valley, Midwest District champions and No. 3 seed, has the day off Sunday. They will play next on Monday at 10 a.m. CDT against Shelton State.