White River High’s baseball club batted .500 last week as it hammered Clover Park twice – on the road and at home – then lost both contests in a make-up twinbill Saturday, evening its South Puget Sound League 3A record at 5-5.

In the two-day double-dip against Clover Park’s winless Warriors on April 15 and Thursday, White River gleaned a combined total of 25 hits and the Warriors booted the ball eight times in the pair of five-inning games. This combination ended up being a recipe for Clover Park misery, as White River collected back-to-back, lopsided victories of 17-1 at Clover Park and 15-0 at home.

Then it was the Hornets’ turn to sample the bitter dregs of defeat as they lost Saturday to league-leading Auburn Mountainview 6-1 and then fell 8-3 in the nightcap to Timberline.

But losing to Timberline was small potatoes compared to the disappointing news to come out of the White River camp this week. The Hornets discovered that they might be without the services of starting centerfielder Payden Lamb for the remainder of the season.

White River coach Mike Williams called Lamb one of the best outfielders in the league.

“That was a tough bit of news to swallow when we found out that Payden had suffered a fractured rib and a bulging disc in his spine,” Williams said. “He has put in so much work to achieve the level of play that he has reached.”

Chad Sayler will continue to pick up some of the slack in Lamb’s absence.

White River was scheduled to travel to Lakes Tuesday; results came too late to report here but will be posted at www.courierherald.com. Today, Wednesday, White River hosts Franklin Pierce and Thursday the Hornets host Peninsula. Both games begin at 4 p.m.

Reach John Leggett at jleggett@courierherald.com or 360-802-8207.