Carmelo Rivera's one-out single to right drove in David Estrada with the winning run to complete West Valley's 12-11 comeback win over Merced College Wednesday at Valhalla. Estrada set the plate for Rivera with a double, his third hit of the day.

The Vikings (2-2) jumped in front with three runs in the 1st, highlighted by RBI doubles from Rivera and Andrew Bonfigli and a run-scoring one-bagger by Xander Sielken. The WVC lead didn't last long.

Merced exploded to an 11-5 lead - West Valley scored twice in the 3rd - with two runs in the 2nd, five in the 3rd and four in the 4th. But the Blue Devils (0-3) would not score again.

While Viking relievers Jase Newton and Sage Romero kept Merced scoreless and hitless the rest of the way, a five-run WVC 5th got the Vikings back in the game at 11-10. The Viking 5th saw a two-run single from Estrada, an RBI single from Kai Laxa and a two-run double by Colin Spear. Spear went to work again in the 6th, tying it up with a solo homer. It remained 11-11 until the bottom-of-the-9th heroics from Rivera.

The Vikings outhit the Blue Devils 11-6 thanks to three-hit outings from Estrada, Laxa, Sielken and Spear. Bonfigli contributed a pair of hits. Spear knocked in six runs to boost his team-high season total to 10. Romero K'd a trio of Blue Devils in his two scoreless innings of work to earn his first collegiate win.

The same two teams meet Thursday (1/30) at Merced. First pitch is 2:00pm.