PENDLETON — The Pendleton/Nixyaawii baseball team didn’t have any close calls in winning the first nine games on its Greater Oregon League schedule.

The Bucks are still undefeated after sweeping Baker/Powder Valley on Wednesday, May 7, in Pendleton.

But their run of dominating wins ended.

Baker took advantage of multiple passed balls in the second game to tie the score at 5 after five innings.

The Bucks scored the game-winning run in the top of the sixth and went on to a 6-5 win.

Baker coach Tim Smith lamented the Bulldogs’ failure to get a hit with runners in scoring position.

“We had baserunners,” Smith said. “We just didn’t get the big hit we wanted. We just had a really bad day at the plate, and it cost us. We can play with anybody in the state, but we have to play well in all three phases of the game.”

Pendleton, 16-7 overall and 10-0 in league play, won the first game 10-0 in five innings behind Evan Lehnert’s complete game two-hitter. The Bucks are ranked seventh in Class 4A.

The second game was by far the closest of Pendleton’s 10 league wins. The previous smallest margin was 11-5 over Baker on April 18.

Pendleton’s first nine league wins were by an average of 14-2.

Baker dropped to 10-10 overall and 4-6 in league play, in third place behind Pendleton and La Grande, which is 4-4.

La Grande has two league doubleheaders left, Friday, May 9, against Ontario, which is winless in league games, and May 16 at Pendleton.

Baker’s final league games are May 16 at Ontario. Baker and La Grande split their four league games, but La Grande holds the tiebreaker, which is the total number of runs.

It is the slimmest of margins — La Grande scored 28 runs in the four games, Baker 27.

If Baker ends up third in the league, it will have to travel for a play-in game late in the month. Smith said that even if Baker finished second it probably would have to travel for a first-round playoff game.

Game 1: Pendleton 10, Baker 0, 5 innings

Sage Joseph and Clay Stevens had the only two hits against Pendleton’s ace Lehnert, who struck out eight.

Game 2: Pendleton 6, Baker 5

Baker managed just two hits again, by Colby Capon and Talon Gyllenberg, but the Bulldogs were opportunistic on the basepaths.

Freshman pitcher Tucker Reid threw a complete game, striking out two.

“He did well,” Smith said of Reid.

Baker took a 2-1 lead with two runs in the top of the third.

With one out, Jaxon Logsdon was hit by a pitch, Jake McClaughry walked and Zane Morgan was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Logsdon scored on a passed ball, and Capon singled to center to drive in McClaughry.

The Bucks regained the lead, 5-2, with four runs in the bottom of the third, but Baker rallied in the fourth and fifth to tie it at 5.

In the top of the fourth, Gyllenberg led off with a single, advanced to second on a walk to Aldo Duran, then stole third. Gyllenberg and Duran both scored on passed balls to cut the lead to 5-4.

In the fifth, Morgan led off and was hit by a pitch. Capon laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Morgan went to third on an error. Morgan scored on a passed ball to tie the score.

Pendleton scored the game-winning run on Keegan Kline’s sacrifice fly.

Baker went down in order in the top of the seventh against Kline, who was Pendleton’s third pitcher and went the final three innings.

Baker takes a break from the league schedule to travel to Nyssa for a nonleague game against Nyssa/Adrian on Tuesday, May 13, at 4 p.m. PDT.

After the final league doubleheader at Ontario on May 16, Baker concludes its regular season at home with a single game against Mac-Hi on May 20 at 4 p.m.