KENNEWICK -- Walla Walla had not beaten Richland baseball three times in the last decade.
But after Saturday afternoon's 6-5 win over the Bombers at LaPierre Field, the Blue Devils have three wins over the state's big-school powerhouse just in this season.
Jake Campeau delivered five innings of big-time relief on the mound and two big hits at the plate in leading Wa-Hi (20-6) to the CBBN/GSL 4A sub-regional championship.
"Coming into this year, we felt we had an opportunity to go after a big (postseason) run," Campeau said. "And we knew Richland would be the key to making a run."
That run will continue into next Saturday's regional state games at Yakima County Stadium. The Blue Devils will play Auburn Riverside (14-10), while Richland (18-6) draws Ferris (19-3), a 7-6 winner over Moses Lake in Spokane on Saturday.
Wa-Hi swept Richland in the regular season, handing the Bombers a rare 10-run, mercy-rule ending.
But it was the Bombers who jumped out Saturday, putting up a pair of runs in each of the first two innings on Blue Devils ace Drew Christina.
Corey Morris led off the game with a triple and scored, and then singled in a run in the second inning to get Richland off to a 4-0 lead.
But Wa-Hi came back in the bottom of the frame, with Brett Christina and Moe Handcox hitting RBI doubles.
The big blow came in the third, when CBBN 4A player of the year Kevin Toon led off with a single and Matt Watson followed with a walk.
Campeau then doubled to the fence in right field to score one run, and Michael Pontarolo delivered a two-run single to put Walla Walla up 5-4 and chase Richland starter Syd Hall.
Wa-Hi coach Keith Gradwohl said Campeau's double got his team to relax -- "We just rolled our shoulders back and said, 'We'll be alright.' " -- but it was his solo home run in the fifth that provided some needed insurance.
Richland plated a run in the sixth on Hall's RBI double. And the Bombers had a golden opportunity to pull even in the seventh when Dillan Klute ripped a ball to center for extra bases to lead off the inning. However, the junior ran through a stop sign and was thrown out at third base.
"Those things happen," Richland coach Ben Jacobs said. "I thought we played well, competed well. Walla Walla's a good ballclub, and my big deal is I'm proud of these guys. We battled every inning."
The Bombers added a hit and reached on an error later in the seventh, but a 5-4-3 double play killed the rally.
"We're a very resilient group," Campeau said of coming back from that four-run deficit. "A little saying we have is, 'Early to ripe, early to rot.' When we get down, we keep playing through it.
"We don't get nervous."
But they do get to go to state.
Richland 220 001 0 -- 5 7 0
Walla Walla 023 010 x -- 6 13 1
Syd Hall, Zach Rapacz (3), Kenton Brunson (6) and Jarrod Turner; Drew Christina, Jake Campeau (3) and Conner Holbrook.
Highlights--Corey Morris (R) 2x4, 3B, RBI, R; Dillan Klute (R) 2x3, 2B, BB; Hall (R) 1x2, 2B, RBI, SAC; Moe Handcox (WW) 2x4, 2 2B, RBI; Jake Jimenez (WW) 2B; Kevin Toon (WW) 2x3, SB, R; Campeau (WW) 2x3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI; Michael Pontarolo (WW) 3x3, 2 SB, 2 RBI; Brett Christina (WW) RBI 2B.
