WALLA WALLA, Wash. (June 7, 2026) – The Walla Walla Sweets wrapped up their first homestand of the summer about as well as they could have hoped.

Behind another big night from the offense and a shutdown effort from the bullpen, the Sweets rolled past the Bend Elks 13-1 on Sunday night at Borleske Stadium, completing their first sweep of Bend since 2019.

Bend grabbed an early run in the second, but Walla Walla answered right back in the bottom half. Gunner Geile came around to score on an RBI groundout from Isaac Torres, tying the game at 1-1 and giving Torres his first RBI as a Sweet.

From there, the Sweets started to take control.

In the third, Payton Knowles reached base and came around to score on an RBI single from Trevor Tse. Andrew Demianew then stole home as part of a double steal, and Torres followed with his first hit as a Sweet, driving in Tse with a single to center field to make it 4-1.

The Sweets kept building in the fifth. Geile worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home Demianew, Torres drove in another run on a fielder’s choice, and Nate Petz added an RBI groundout. Sam Kane later drew a bases-loaded walk to stretch the lead to 8-1.

Walla Walla broke things open even further in the sixth. Geile delivered the loudest swing of the inning with a two-run triple to right field, scoring Tse and Mateo Rickman. Knowles followed with a two-run double to left, and Kane added another RBI groundout as the Sweets pushed the lead into double digits.

The Sweets finished with eight hits, 10 walks and 12 RBIs, continuing a strong offensive stretch at Borleske. Torres led the way with three RBIs, while Geile also drove in three and scored twice. Knowles added a double and two RBIs, Kane brought in two runs, and Tse finished with two hits, three runs scored and an RBI.

The Sweets also stayed active on the bases, with Kane, Demianew, Tse and Geile each recording stolen bases.

On the mound, Curtis Ellis picked up his first win of the summer, allowing just one run over four innings while striking out four. From there, the bullpen took over.

Jacob Talbott tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, Andrew Cohen added a clean inning with two strikeouts, Tyler Smith struck out one in his Walla Walla debut, and Carson McKinney recorded the final two outs with another strikeout.

The pitching staff finished with 12 strikeouts, marking the eighth time in the first nine games that Walla Walla arms have reached double digits in punchouts.

With the win, the Sweets completed a 5-1 homestand, clinched back-to-back series wins and moved into a tie for first place in the WCL South Division.

The Sweets will take Monday off before heading north for a six-game road trip through Canada. Walla Walla opens the trip Tuesday, June 9, against Kelowna, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at Elks Stadium.