<I>Hector del Castillo/Chieftain</I><BR>Wallowa freshman Wesley Conrad's throw to first will beat Elgin's Cyle Miller in a race to the bag.

“It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” Yogi Berra once said.

The famous baseball personality’s testimony fit two games last week for Wallowa-Imbler. Casey Robertson finished the April 16 opener at home against Elgin by dropping a hit into left-center field. He batted in Zack Phillips for a 9-8 win. Phillips had reached base with the bases empty and two outs, as his soft ground ball sneaked between the legs of Elgin’s first baseman. The following day at Joseph, in the Cats’ last game, they scored eight runs in the sixth inning and erased a 5-3 deficit. They held on to win, 11-10.

“The game wasn’t over,” said Wallowa freshman Wesley Conrad, who hit a double and scored seven runs in five games. He also pitched seven innings and struck out a batter. “We still had a chance.”

All together, Wallowa-Imbler won four of five games last week. Starting on April 13, the Cats crushed Nixyaawii, 10-0. After the first come-from-behind win, Elgin took their second game 10-6. But Wallowa-Imbler bounced back the next day at Joseph with a 20-5 victory. That set the stage for the exciting finale.

The Cats improved their record to 7-3. The mark in the district climbed to 5-3.

Senior Tyler Harshfield led the batting lineup. He scored 11 times, hit two home runs and four doubles. Phillips also homered and totaled five runs. Junior Cody Green hit three doubles and scored six runs. Senior Jake Johnson had three doubles and five runs. Just like Conrad, Andrew Fullerton doubled once and scored seven runs.

Meanwhile, Gary Cornford crossed home plate 10 times. Robertson did it twice, as did junior Billy Lee. Junior Conner Evans and sophomore Chris Wilks each chipped in a run.

As for pitching, the Cats spread out the job. Fullerton struck out eight batters over eight innings. Cornford had 14 strikeouts in his seven innings. Harshfield set down six batters in seven innings. Conrad threw seven innings. Johnson pitched three innings with six strikeouts.

Next, April 23, Wallowa will host Pine Eagle. The following day, the Cats will play at Union.