CORVALLIS, Ore. — The rubber match did not go as planned for the Walla Walla Sweets, as they dropped the series finale to the Corvallis Knights 14-0. The loss ends the series win streak at two for the Sweets.

Walla Walla was held to their fewest number of hits this season, just getting one knock in the game. That came from Stevie Hom in the second at bat of the game, and he was left stranded at second.

After the Hom single, the Sweets only got two more baserunners in the ball game. Kolby Felix drew the first walk in the opening frame.

The third and final runner was Joel Esparza drawing a leadoff walk in the third. A sac bunt moved him to second, and that was the last time the Sweets would advance a base. The sacrifice began a streak of 21 batters sat down in a row. Six of those 21 outs were strikeouts, but the most were groundouts and flyouts.

Walla Walla also struggled on the mound. Corvallis opened the scoring in the first inning scoring two runs.

After being held off the board in the second and third innings, Corvallis scored in every frame from the fourth onward. In the fourth, sixth and seventh innings, the Knights brought home just one run. The fifth saw two runs score for Corvallis, making the score 6-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth.

It was that half frame that really blew the game wide open. Corvallis sent 14 batters to the plate and brought home eight runs off three hits and eight walks. Six of those walks were in a row with the bases loaded and two outs, bringing home four runs.

With the loss, the Sweets fall to 16-32 and finish their road season 8-19. The loss also snaps the two-series winning streak with Corvallis taking the series 2-1.

Walla Walla returns home to Borleske Stadium for the final six games of the season. The Sweets need to go 4-2 in those final games to match last year’s record and 5-1 to break it. The home stretch starts Friday, August 2, with the Sweets hosting the Cowlitz Black Bears. First pitch is set for 6:35 and Sweets’ coverage of the game can be found on their YouTube channel.