The Sweets opened the scoring early with a two-run first inning. Trevor Tse and Tanner Kern each drew walks off Drifters starting pitcher Noah Dewey, and Zane Bidwell capped the rally with an RBI single. After a Drifters error and two more free passes, the Sweets ended the top of the first with a 2-0 lead.

The offense kept rolling in the third. First baseman Tanner Kern homered over the left-field fence — the first home run of the season for Walla Walla. Catcher John Porter-Strother added an RBI double, then later came around to score on a passed ball, extending the lead to 5-0 entering the bottom of the third.

On the mound, Sweets starting pitcher Aidan Rady came out strong, retiring six of the first seven batters he faced. However, in the third inning, the Drifters got on the board with three runs after Logan Honma and Dylan Carson kept the inning alive with a pair of singles. Rady finished his outing with four earned runs over five innings, striking out four.

In the sixth, both teams traded blows. Walla Walla shortstop Trevor Tse scored on a sacrifice fly by Porter-Strother. The Drifters answered with a run of their own, setting up the decisive bottom of the seventh.

After a two-hit, three-RBI performance in the field the night before, Jacob Talbott returned to the mound for a second inning of work in the seventh. Talbott failed to record an out, giving up three earned runs on two hits and a walk. Washington State pitcher Trevor Stowe entered in relief but also failed to record an out, allowing three more runs on two walks and a single. Owen Godinez finally stopped the bleeding, recording all three outs but surrendering one earned run. In total, the Drifters plated seven runs on three hits and five walks.

The Sweets were unable to rally, and the game ended in a 12-6 Drifters win.

With the loss, Walla Walla falls to 2-1 on the season but still secures the opening road series victory. The Sweets have an off day Monday before traveling to Yakima for a three-game series against the Pippins. First pitch in the “Battle of the Basin” is set for 7:05 p.m., with coverage beginning five minutes prior on Mixlr.