EPHRATA — Backs against the wall and their dreams on the verge of being interrupted by an adverse reality, the Columbia Basin River Dogs found a way to keep the Sandman around a little longer.

The River Dogs’ dreams of making it to the 2010 Babe Ruth World Series in Newark, Ohio next month remained alive as they fought back to take two big wins against the Kent Bulldogs on Friday.

At Johnson/O’Brien Stadium, the River Dogs, needing two wins before Kent would win one, recorded 5-0 and 7-6 wins to eliminate the Bulldogs and win the Babe Ruth North State Tournament to send them to the Regional Tournament in Oregon City, which begins tomorrow.

“It was awesome since they were such a good team,” Bryce Todd of the River Dogs said. “We wanted it a little more and they were a little confident after beating us the first time. It was a loser out game and no one on the team didn’t want to lose and end our season. We want to get to the World Series in Ohio so we wanted to get it done.”

Todd, who was suffering from a hyperextended knee and strained Achilles, is an Ephrata High School graduate who will play at Big Bend CC next season.

The River Dogs lost to Kent 9-3 on Wednesday which forced them to have to win three straight games to advance, including the last two.

In the opener on Friday, the River Dogs won 5-0 behind the four-hit shutout pitching of Davis Engel (Ellensburg HS).

Matt Herbert (Big Bend CC) hit a two-run double in the second inning and Dylan Signorelli’s (Moses Lake HS) two-run home run in the seventh inning were the key hits to secure the win.

In the winner-take-all nightcap, Engel showed his toughness by pitching the first five innings of the contest before being relieved by Cody Johns (Naches Valley HS).

They trailed 6-5 going into the bottom of the seventh inning but tied the game when Chris Walker (Naches Valley HS) singled in their sixth run before Cameron Alvarado (Moses Lake HS) forced in the winning run with a bases loaded walk with two outs.

Signorelli was the Offensive MVP of the tournament.

“We were down and losing that one game really got us focused and gave us a sense of urgency and fired us up,” Johns said. “In the beginning we were just talking even if we were playing good. This showed us how much courage and heart we have to fight through it. Everyone dug deep and clutched up when they needed to. We still have our momentum going in and we want to go to Ohio.”