JOHN DAY – The Heppner Mustangs took a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning, but the No. 1 Grant Union Prospectors posted three runs in the fifth and added four in the sixth for an 8-2 win Tuesday in the semifinals of the OSAA/US Bank/Les Schwab Tires Class 2A/1A state baseball playoffs.

The Prospectors (29-1) extended their win streak to 29 games and will meet the Regis Rams in the championship game Saturday in Volcanoes Stadium at Keizer. Regis defeated the Warrenton Warriors 8-6 in the other semifinal game.

“One inning got away from us, but they’re a heck of a hitting team and there is no doubt about it,” Heppner head coach Rick Johnston said. “We had them on the ropes a couple of innings, but you can’t be prouder to coach a bunch of kids and I’m very proud of the way my team battled.”

“Heppner is really good and should be very happy with their efforts,” Grant Union head coach Art Thunell. “They battled us tougher than nails and they made some plays that gave us fits.”

The Mustangs (24-5) received a heavy dose of curve balls from Matt Curtis, who picked up the win, and Heppner was unable to stop Billy Colson, who went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBI.

Curtis surrendered just one earned run, walked one and struck out nine over seven innings.

“We’re very happy with the win and the team has been swinging the bats behind me all year,” Curtis said. “Everyone has worked hard for a chance to play for the title and Heppner gave us a game.”

Heppner was baffled by Curtis in the first inning, striking out three straight times, but the Mustangs produced the first run in the second inning. Kory Paullus tapped an infield single, moved to second on a throwing error and later scored on a single by Kyler Lovgren.

Grant Union threatened to score in the bottom half of the second inning with back-to-back singles, but Heppner starting pitcher Chuy Elguezabal fanned two batters and forced a ground out to retire the side.

The Prospectors loaded the bases in the third inning with no outs, but Elguezabal escaped with just one run after Josh Winters made a diving catch in left field on a ball hit in the gap.

“They’re very solid one through nine and I did make some mistakes, but I was able to get out of some jams,” Elguezabal said. “The defense behind me was great and Josh made two great plays to save runs.”

“Elguezabal is a crafty pitcher and kept our hitters off balance,” Thunell added. “He did a good job and battled.”

Heppner’s Brad Adams led off the fourth with a single to left. Two batters later Gates singled to left and Donald Adams gave Heppner a 2-1 lead with an RBI double of the left-center field wall, but Heppner left runners stranded on second and third.

“We were pretty sure that our 2-1 lead wasn’t going to hold up,” Johnston said. “They were hitting the ball hard all day and we just left to many runners on base.”

The Mustangs loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth and Gates laced a ball to center field, only to have a Prospector make a fine play and Heppner left three runners stranded.

The Grant Union bats came to life in the fifth with doubles from Trevor Simmons, Cody Frazier and Colson and Grant Union tallied three runs.

“We gave it our best and I though we played strong enough to win,” Elguezabal said. “A couple balls bounce our way and maybe it might have been a different story.”

Curtis cooled the Mustang bats over the final two innings, retiring seven of the final eight Heppner batters he faced and Grant Union rallied for four more runs in the sixth to put Heppner away.

“Curtis threw good and when he’s mixing it up he can be really tough,” Thunell said.

Seniors Donald Adams (2 for 3) and Brad Adams (2 for 4) led Heppner in their final games for the Mustangs.

“Grant Union deserves the win and I think we represented Heppner very well today,” Johnston said. “We have a great bunch of kids and they played hard.”