By: Ryan Lackey

WALLA WALLA, Wash. --- Inclement weather did its very best, but baseball finally prevailed as the Bruins won their series with Whitman after three waterlogged days. Whitman took game one, played over Saturday and Sunday, but the Bruins recovered to win game two, which began on Sunday and finished Monday, 11-4. The rubber game was high-scoring: Whitman held a 6-1 lead, but the Bruins scored seven over the final three innings to take a 10-8 victory.

Recap:

Game One
The Bruins's 4-5 combo, Jake Thran and Kadyn Nannini, exploded for seven RBIs between them, and the Bruins turned a close game into a rout with five runs in the seventh.

Whitman scored in the first on a passed ball, but the Bruins tied it in the second and took a 3-1 lead in the third as Connor Newell and Thran collected RBIs. Thran got another RBI in the fifth on a sacrifice fly, but Whitman scored twice in the bottom of the inning on Adrian Vela's single.

With the score 4-3, the Bruins broke out in the seventh. Batting with the bases loaded, Thran poked a single to center, scoring two. Next up was Nannini, who drove a single to left for another run. Brandon Wileman waited out a walk to force in the Bruins's third, and after Nannini raced home on a wild pitch, the Bruins had a 9-3 lead.

The Missionaries pulled one back in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bruins quieted all doubt when, in the eighth, Nannini obliterated a double into the right-center gap, driving in two runs. Nathan Higa worked the ninth, and the Bruins had an 11-4 win.

Game Two
Monday's nightcap was just as prolific offensively, if a little more evenly distributed. After the clubs traded runs in the first, Bruin starter Liam Kent ran into difficulty in the third. The Missionaries turned two walks, three hits, and two errors into five runs, and Zachery Muenster came on to relieve Kent. The Bruins escaped without further damage, but they faced a 6-1 deficit to overcome.

They began in the fifth. The first two batters, Riley McKean and Jacob Woehler, doubled and singled to put two on for Kyle Esquerra. His single brought in McKean, but Woehler was thrown out at home. But, after Esquerra went to third on Caylen Clardy's groundout, Valencia singled him in, and the score stood 6-3.

Joseph Zimmer's solo homer in the sixth gave Whitman a little more cushion, but the Bruins surged in the seventh. With two on and two outs, a fielding error extended the inning, which proved disastrous for the Missionaries. With the bases loaded, Reichenbach pounded a ball well over the fence for a grand slam, and things were all square, 7-7.

From there, two more in the eighth, and another in the ninth on a Thran solo shot, gave the Bruins the game, 10-8, and the series.

Top Performers:

Game One
Thran finished 1-2 with two runs and four RBIs, helped out by his two sacrifice flies. Nannini was 3-5 with two runs, driving in three. Designated hitter Andrew Reichenbach was 2-3 with two runs. AJ Valencia also scored twice and picked up two hits. Alex Jondal took the win for the Bruins, going a busy six innings, giving up three and whiffing four.

Game Two
With one swing, Reichenbach brought the Bruins back into the game: with his grand slam, his line read 1-3 with five RBIs. Esquerra put up a 3-4 day with two runs and an RBI. Thran was 4-5 with a run and RBI. Valencia went 2-5 with two runs and an RBI. Reliever Blake Stassi worked one inning and was awarded the win.

What It Means:
The Bruins improve to 10-8 overall and a very good 8-4 in conference play.

What Comes Next:
On Friday, the Bruins head to Tuscon for the Tucson Invitational.