WALLA WALLA, WASH. — Thursday night’s series finale between the Walla Walla Sweets and the Springfield Drifters was tight back-and-forth game for the first five innings. Unfortunately, in the sixth, Springfield batted around for the third time this series, brought home five runs and took the Sweets out of the game, winning 9-3.

Walla Walla struck first, bringing home two runs off a Kolby Felix double. For Felix, it gave him eight RBI over the course of the three games, the most in a series by a Sweet this season.

Springfield took the lead, bringing home one run in the second and two in the third. The run in the second frame came off a solo home run from Andrew Gauna, the ninth home run allowed by Sweets pitching this year.

Outside of the three runs, starter Liam Hohenstein had another great outing. He tossed the first four innings and struck out eight batters. That is a season high for him and ties the high mark for the team, matching Josh Aribal’s eight K’s against Port Angeles on June 12.

In the bottom of the fourth, Kennedy Hara tied the game with an RBI single to centerfield, bringing home JJ Moran from second. It was a tight play at the plate, but Moran slid under the ball to even the score at three.

In the sixth, Springfield sent nine batters to the plate and brought home five runs of four hits and one error. The error would have been the third out with only two runs having scored, but the inning continued, and the Drifters put another three on the board.

Springfield added one in the ninth as the Sweets fell 9-3.

With the loss, Walla Walla falls to 8-15 on the year. Their series record also drops to 1-7.

The Sweets are on the road for the next three games, travelling up to Kamloops for their one and only time in Canada. The NorthPaws are in last place in the North Division and have lost 15 of their last 16 games. Friday will be the first ever meeting between Kamloops and Walla Walla, with the NorthPaws joining the West Coast League in the summer of 2022.

Sweets’ coverage of the game can be found on Mixlr.com.