On opening night at Yakima County Stadium in front of more than 2,000 fans, both pitching staffs delivered. Pippins starting pitcher Colton Lafave struck out five batters in the first two innings alone. He finished with six strikeouts over four scoreless innings and allowed no earned runs.

The Sweets scraped across their lone run in the top of the second inning. Third baseman Trevor Tse drew a leadoff walk, and with two outs, second baseman Nigel Fahland—the nine-hole hitter—drove a single into right field to bring Tse home.

Sweets starting pitcher Nakoa Moses-Gomera matched Lafave’s performance with a strong outing of his own. The Walla Walla Community College product allowed no earned runs over six innings, striking out three. Following the effort, Moses-Gomera lowered his ERA to 1.29.

The Pippins got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on a pair of Sweets defensive miscues. Errors allowed third baseman Jacob Brooks and designated hitter Preston Allen to reach and eventually score. A chaotic sequence ended with catcher Isiah Chacon attempting to throw out Allen at third, but the throw allowed Allen to advance another 90 feet and score Yakima Valley’s second and final run.

What followed was a tense pitching battle through the final frames. Aidan Cube entered in the seventh and recorded a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning. Alex Figueroa finished the frame by escaping a bases-loaded jam. In the eighth, Trevor Stowe held the Pippins in check, tossing a scoreless inning with one walk and no hits.

The Sweets’ best chance to rally came in the top of the ninth. With two outs and the bases loaded, shortstop Landon Young went down swinging to end the threat—and the game.

Walla Walla was limited to three hits on the night and committed three errors. Yakima Valley recorded seven hits but did not register an RBI, with both runs unearned. The teams return to action Saturday at 6:35 p.m. at Yakima County Stadium. Fans can listen live on the Walla Walla Sweets Mixlr broadcast.