The Sweets entered the series opener riding a four-game winning streak following a home-opening sweep of the Ridgefield Raptors. On the other side, the Pickles had yet to lose this season and extended their unbeaten run to 10 games.

The first three innings flew by on a sunny evening in Portland, with the game clocking just over 30 minutes through three frames. Sweets right-hander Aidan Rady was sharp early, tossing three no-hit, scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Pickles starter Ethan Thomas was equally effective, scattering one hit over five shutout innings.

The tide turned in the fourth. Portland’s Kyle McDaniel led off with a single, followed by base hits from Tyler Harries and Bryson Glassco to load the bases. Josh Schleichardt opened the scoring with a two-run single, and Kevin Ferguson and Luis Castillo each reached to keep the rally alive, with Glassco scoring on a bases-loaded walk. Conner Stewart added an RBI single, and Petey Soto Jr. brought in another run with a fielder’s choice.

A pitching change brought Jacob Courtney to the mound, but the Pickles tacked on two more — one on a groundout by McDaniel and another on a wild pitch during Harries’ at-bat. Glassco’s groundout finally ended the frame after seven runs came across on six hits.

Portland extended its lead in the fifth when Schleichardt came home again to make it 8-0.

Walla Walla showed some life in the sixth against a fresh arm. Cole Rogers led off with a single, and after a strikeout, Tanner Kern was hit by a pitch. Dominic Cadiz walked to load the bases before Landon Young delivered a two-run single over the third baseman’s head — the Sweets’ only runs of the evening.

Any momentum was quickly erased in the bottom half. The Pickles scored three more runs, fueled by a couple of well-hit balls to center that were lost in the lights. Portland added another in the eighth to cap off a 13-2 win in a game the Sweets will look to move past quickly.

The teams meet again Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m. for game two of the three-game set. Coverage will be available on the Walla Walla Sweets’ Mixlr stream.