CORVALLIS, Ore. (August 8, 2026) – The Walla Walla Sweets needed one more day, and DJ Kauahi gave them everything they needed to earn it.

Kauahi threw seven shutout innings in his first start since June 18, Tre Morse recorded the final four outs and the No. 3 seed Sweets beat the No. 2 seed Corvallis Knights 3-2 on Saturday night at Goss Stadium to force a winner-take-all Game 3 in the WCL Divisional Semifinal.

With their season on the line, the Sweets answered Friday’s Game 1 loss by getting ahead early and leaning on one of their best pitching performances of the summer.

Walla Walla scored all three of its runs in the second inning.

Logan Nakamura opened the frame by reaching base, and Keagan Kelly followed to put the Sweets in motion. Bo Stinson then singled to second base, bringing Nakamura home and giving Walla Walla a 1-0 lead.

Ronan Scoffield followed with one of the biggest swings of the night, driving a triple into center field to score Kelly and stretch the lead to 2-0. The triple was Scoffield’s second extra-base hit of the summer.

Kyler Bittner, who had a four-hit night in Game 1, kept his strong postseason series going by lining an RBI single to bring Scoffield home and give the Sweets a 3-0 advantage.

From there, Kauahi took over.

Making his first start in nearly two months, the right-hander delivered seven scoreless innings and held Corvallis to just two hits. He walked two, struck out seven, and threw 59 of his 90 pitches for strikes.

Kauahi was at his best after the Sweets took the lead. He struck out two batters in the second, two more in the third and two more in the fourth, putting together three straight innings with multiple strikeouts and keeping the Knights from building any momentum.

Corvallis put runners on at times, but Kauahi continued to make the pitches he needed. He worked through traffic, held the Knights scoreless and handed the bullpen a three-run lead after seven dominant frames.

He also got help from the defense behind him.

In the bottom of the fourth, with a runner on third, Kelly made one of the defensive plays of the night. The second baseman ranged back into shallow right-center field and made a diving catch over his head, helping preserve the shutout and keep Walla Walla in control.

Corvallis finally broke through with two runs in the eighth, but Morse entered with the tying run in scoring position and shut the door.

The right-hander recorded the final out of the eighth before returning for the ninth. He worked around a walk in the final inning and kept Corvallis off the board, earning his second save of the season and extending Walla Walla’s postseason run.

Morse finished with 1.1 scoreless innings, no hits allowed and two strikeouts.

Kauahi, Quade Gonzalez IV, and Morse combined to hold Corvallis to four hits while striking out 11. The Knights were held scoreless in eight of the nine innings.

Offensively, Nakamura helped set the table throughout the night. The designated hitter reached base four times, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored.

Kelly finished 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored. Scoffield tripled, walked, scored and drove in a run. Bittner added a hit, a walk and an RBI, while Stinson drove in the first run of the night.

Sam Kane, Gaines Haussin, and Troy Osborne also added hits as Walla Walla finished with 10 as a team.

Saturday’s win kept Walla Walla’s season alive and evened the best-of-three series at one game apiece. It also gave the Sweets a response after dropping the playoff opener at Borleske Stadium the night before.

The WCL Divisional Semifinal will now come down to one game.

Walla Walla and Corvallis meet again Sunday, August 9, in a winner-take-all Game 3 at Goss Stadium to decide how goes on to the South Division title game. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.