RIDGEFIELD, Wash. — Walla Walla dropped its eighth game in a row, falling to the Ridgefield Raptors 7-1. Much like the series opener Tuesday, it was a big inning for the Raptors that did most of the damage.

For the first four innings, it was pitcher’s duel. Starter and All-Star Liam Hohenstein did not allow much on the mound. Two hits got by him, but for the most part, it was soft contact that the Walla Walla defense easily handled.

At the plate, the Sweets were also held in check, only getting one hit through the first four innings.

In the fifth, Walla Walla broke the scoreless tie. Luka Ruljancich started the frame off with a leadoff walk and Joel Esparza got on a few at bats later with another walk. With those two on and two outs on the board, Kennedy Hara muscled a single under the glove of the Ridgefield third baseman and into left field. Ruljancich came into score to put the Sweets up 1-0.

The lead did not last long however, as Ridgefield put six runs up in the bottom half of the frame. With the bases loaded, a hit by pitch and walk back-to-back brought home two runs giving the Raptors a lead. A third run scored on a fielder’s choice ground ball that got the runner out at second. After a pitching change, Ridgefield took a commanding lead with a three-run homer. The slam is 12^th allowed this year by Sweets pitching and made the score 6-1.

The final four innings were almost as quiet as the first four. Walla Walla had two multi-hit innings trying to start a comeback, but none of those runners were brought home. Ridgefield added a seventh run in the seventh inning.

With the loss, Walla Walla falls to 9-23 on the season and 0-6 in the second half. Their losing streak also extends to eight. That is tied for the second longest streak in franchise history, matching a stretch in the inaugural 2010 season. That streak was June 20-27 and was finally broken with the Sweets beating the Bellingham Bells 5-2 June 28.

The Sweets look to end the streak in the same fashion in the series finale in Ridgefield. First pitch is set for 6:35 and Sweets’ coverage can be found on Mixlr.com.