WALLA WALLA, Wash- In 2022, Sweets alumni succeeded at some of the highest levels of baseball with 30 former Sweets playing affiliated ball and 9 of which found themselves playing in The Show. Cooper Hummel, Mark Contreras, Vinny Capra, Sean Bouchard, and Garrett Mitchell made their Major League debut in 2022. 

Four former Sweets returned to The Show in 2022 as Justin Bruihl, Cody Poteet Jarren Duran, and Taylor Jones all continued their major league careers. Bruihl, who played with the Sweets back in 2016 pitched 23.2 innings in his second season with the Dodgers and posted a 3.80 ERA in 2022. Poteet played in 12 games for Miami with two starts posting a 3.86 ERA in 28 innings in his second season with the Marlins. Jones played 35 games in 2021 for the Houston Astros. The 2013 Sweet alum battled injuries that left him off of the major league roster for most of the year however did see action in the Astros series vs the Red Sox in august. Duran, another member of the 2016 Sweets squad, played in almost 60 games with the Red Sox batting .283 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in his second big league season. 

Cooper Hummel had a very interesting 2022 as the 2014 Sweet was called up to the D-Backs in early April. Hummel ended up playing 66 games for Arizona while batting .176 with 3 HRs and 17 RBIs. Hummel’s first hit however was possibly the most memorable with the former Portland Pilot going yard to dead center vs the Padres. Hummel’s offseason has been even more memorable as the Portland native returning to the Pacific Northwest as he was recently traded to Seattle. 

Mark Contreras, made his major league debut for the Minnesota Twins on May 11th, 2022 against the Houston Astros in Minnesota as a defensive replacement for Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton in the 4th inning of the game. He later collected his first major league RBI on a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning of the same game. Contreras played almost 60 games for Minnesota with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs.

Garret Mitchell made his debut for the Milwaukee Brewers on August 27th verse the Chicago White Sox. Mitchell quickly made an impact for the Brewers as in his first start he would go ¼ with a 2-run base hit. Mitchell followed it up with a pair of RBIs the next day agianst the Pirates. Mitchell played 28 games for the Brewers and hit .312 in that span. 

Sean Bouchard, who was a former WCL All-Star with the Sweets in 2014 made his big league debut Bouchard had a remarkable rookie campaign, debuting on June 19 and hit .297/.454/.500 in 27 games. However, his rookie season was halted due to an injury that saw him spend time on the IL. 

Finally, Vinny Capra played with Walla Walla in 2017 and made his big league debut made his major league debut on May 1st, 2022. Capra played eight games with Toronto with a .429 on-base percentage. 

In 2022, 298 alumni of West Coast League teams were active in affiliated professional baseball.

The 2022 list of affiliated professionals includes a record 62 former West Coast League players who appeared in the Major Leagues this year

FULL LIST OF WCL ALUMNI- https://westcoastleague.com/298-wcl-alumni-active-in-affiliated-baseball/

WALLA WALLA, Wash. —  The 13th season of Sweets baseball will start Friday, June 2 in British Columbia, Canada.

This morning, the West Coast League announced the full schedule for the 2023 summer season.  The league returns all 16 teams from the 2022 summer season, with eight teams separated into the north division, and eight in the south division.  The Sweets will be in the south division again this season, along with the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, Cowlitz Black Bears, Portland Pickles, Ridgefield Raptors, Springfield Drifters and Yakima Valley Pippins.

The Sweets begin the season with a road trip north of the border, where they will face the Nanaimo NightOwls and Victoria Harbourcats for the first six games.  Walla Walla then returns home for seven home games in a row, with their home opener on Friday, June 9 against Ridgefield.

The Sweets will have 32 home games in the 2023 regular season, consisting of 27 league games and five non-league games.  The Sweets will play 13 home games in June, 16 in July, and three in August.  The season finale is scheduled for Sunday, August 6 against Portland.

A full promotional schedule with finalized game times will be released at a later date.  Season tickets, mini plans, and group packages are currently on sale at the Sweets downtown office, or by calling 509-522-2255.

A printable schedule is available here.  Game times are subject to change.

—–

A full list of the 2023 Schedule

(Home Games in BOLD)

June 2-4: Nanaimo NightOwls

June 5-7: Victoria Harbourcats

June 9-11: Ridgefield Raptors

June 12: Cascade Collegiate League

June 13-15: Cowlitz Black Bears

June 17-19: Corvallis Knights

June 20-22: Northwest Star Nighthawks

June 23-25: Yakima Valley Pippins

June 27-29: Cowlitz Black Bears

June 30, July 1-2: Bend Elks

July 3: Cascade Collegiate League

July 4-6: Victoria Harbourcats

July 7-9: Nanaimo NightOwls

July 11-13: Portland Pickles

July 14-16: Springfield Drifters

July 18-20: Springfield Drifters

July 21-23: Corvallis Knights

July 25-27: Bend Elks

July 28-30: Yakima Valley Pippins

August 1-3: Ridgefield Raptors

August 4-6: Portland Pickles

WALLA WALLA, Wash-  A former Walla Walla Sweets pitcher will return to Borleske Stadium next summer as the team’s new manager.

Jarrod Molnaa, who pitched for the Sweets in the West Coast League in 2017, is no stranger to the Columbia Valley, after assuming the head coaching duties at Walla Walla Community College just prior to the 2022 season.

“Walla Walla has a phenomenal community that loves its baseball, and the Sweets are a big part of summertime here in town,” said Molnaa, who also pitched at WWCC. “Having the opportunity to stay here at home to coach a group of talented young men in one of the premier summer leagues in the country is nothing short of a dream set up for me.”

Molnaa is entering his second year rebuilding the WWCC program. This past spring, the Warriors finished 8-34, a two-game improvement over the 2021 season and the college’s best finish since 2018. Prior to that, Molnaa spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Montana State University-Billings, where he also pitched.

“I’m thrilled to bring on Jarrod as our head coach,” Sweets general manager Cody Miller said. “His experience as both a player and a coach in the West Coast League will be a great asset for our team as we get ready for the 2023 season.”

In 2021, Molnaa was head coach of the Spearfish (South Dakota) Sasquatch, a member of the wood-bat Independence Baseball League. That summer, the club won 46 games — more than doubling the highest win total in the organization’s history — and captured the club’s first playoff and championship series appearances.

From 2013-2017, Molnaa gained two All-Region selections at WWCC. Molnaa continued his career at Bellevue University, where he gained an All-Conference nod before finishing his collegiate career at the NCAA D2 ranks with MSUB, where he helped lead the Yellowjackets to their first-ever GNAC championship.

Season tickets are now on sale for the Sweets 2023 summer season.  A schedule is expected to be announced by the West Coast League later this fall.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Major League Baseball and the West Coast League have reached a partnership agreement that will begin in 2023.

The partnership, which will be fleshed out in coming months, will see the organizations pursue initiatives of mutual interest in the areas of player and coach development, technology innovation, and community engagement.

In 2022, the 16 WCL teams in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta drew more than 600,000 fans. The WCL has more than 300 alumni who have gone on to play professional baseball.

“Major League Baseball is excited to enhance our relationship with the West Coast League,” said John D’Angelo, Senior Vice President, Amateur Baseball Operations. “The West Coast League is an important partner in the development cycle for amateur players and in representing our game in West Coast League communities. This agreement builds on an already solid foundation, and provides a framework for our work together.”

The complete WCL-MBL announcement can be read on the WCL website.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets wrapped up a roller coaster of a 2022 season with a 23-31 record. While the Sweets may not have finished with the most ideal record there were still plenty of memorable moments to look back on.

The season started with Walla Walla traveling to Ridgefield to face off with the Raptors. During that set, the Sweets were heavily shorthanded. Walla Walla would only have 17 players and one coach make the trip to Western Washington. Despite the lack of Sweets Walla Walla would still go on to take on game on the weekend and the first win for assistant coach Peter Abinanti. In the final game of the series the Sweets and the Raptors would combine for a historic scoring mark with the final finishing 23-12 the highest score in the history of the WCL.

Walla Walla would remain short handed for their next series in Yakima but would gain more members including the likes of Davis Mieliwocki, Kai Osaka, Jordan Andrade, Nick Strong, Alec Holmes and pitching coach Brandon Vial. Walla Walla would take their first series of the year taking two of three vs the Pippins sending the Sweets back to Walla Walla with momentum before opening up Borleske for 2022.

While it took a little bit longer than they may have wanted the Sweets would secure their first win of the year with a dominant 11-4 win over Cowlitz. In that contest the Sweets lineup would fully start to take shape as guys like Mieliwocki, Osaka, and Strong would have strong outings. However the show was stolen by a pair of dingers by Malcolm Williams and a grand slam by Leo Rivera. The Sweets were also joined by Manager Brandon Van Horn who would go on to lead the Sweets to a strong few outings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6x00EnRpig

Following the big win the Sweets would proceed to get hot, winning 7 of eight with the win streak culminating with Walla Walla ending Corvallis 9 game win streak to start the year.

The Sweets would struggle near the end of the first half of the year with tough losses to Yakima Valley and Kelowna, and the second half didn’t much better with difficult series vs Portland and Bend with the Sweets only winning one of those six.

The Sweets would need to go on a run and that’s exactly what happened. Walla Walla would go on to take four straight series vs Bend, Springfield, Kelowna, and Wenatchee. The Sweets looked adversity straight in the eyes and over came it. The run started with on of the most interesting games of the year as Walla Walla would walk things off in extras thanks to Leo Rivera scoring by way of an fielding error to take the finale vs Bend at home 10-9.

Rivera’s heroics would not be done as two games later the captain of the Sweets would show off his Ironman ability in a 13-10 win over Kelowna. Rivera would score three times in the win starting the game at third base, however due to a lack of pitching depth in the trip up north Rivera would be forced onto the mound. Rivera would go two innings scoreless on route to a winning decision.

Another Sweets who worked strong in the winning streak was Joey Craig who helped bring a lot of life to the Sweets. From July 15th to the 23rd Craig would bat .318 with 2 HR and 11 RBI’s.

💥 HRs around the @WCLBaseball

Joey Craig (@VaqueroBaseball) with a 2-run HR (3) to extend the @WWSweets lead!

🎙️ @Gary_Erdelyi
@JoeyCraig #JoeyBombs pic.twitter.com/KJKWMOoA5i

— PNW College Baseball Report (@PNW_CBR) July 24, 2022

The Sweets would struggle finishing the year with back to back sweeps by the hands of Portland and Corvallis despite a few great pitching performances by Kolby Solomon, Caden Kaelber, and Jace Hansen.

The Sweets would look to end the year strong and that’s exactly what they did taking the final home series of the year vs Ridgefield.  The final home game was a special one for one member of the red and blue in particular. Rivera who was a four year member and two time team captain for Whitman he got set to play his final game at Borleske. Rivera would get the special opportunity to play all nine positions in the course of one game. The Sweets would end up taking the final home contest 7-2 to wrap up the year for the Sweets captain.

Walla Walla would finish off their year on the road at Wenatchee where they would again show off their grit. In the final game of the series Walla Walla trailed by two going the ninth. However the Sweets would explode for five runs in the top of the ninth thanks to pitcher Zach Ediger driving in three runs to give the Sweets the lead. Nick Seamons would follow it up with a two run homer and the Sweets would take things 7-5 to close out their campaign.

NUMBERS AND NOTES.

LEADERS

BATTING AVG – Nick Strong (Southern Illinois  .378)

HR- Josh Williams (UCSB) 6

RBIs- Cooper Cross (Virginia Tech) 22

On Base Percentage- Will Fuenning (West Texas A&M) .485

ERA- Leo Rivera (Whitman) 0.00 (4GP), Matthew Flores (Hawaii) 0.72 (7GP),  Bryson Spagnuolo (LC State) 1.12 (5 GP)

Wins- Andrew Baughn ( Wash ST) 3-2. Cameron Scudder (Utah Valley) 3-1

NOTES

• Will Fuenning started the year with a 12 game on base streak which finished as the second longest streak by a Sweet this season
• Cooper Cross finished with a 12 game hit streak which was the longest hit streak by a Sweet in 2022. He also played in 26 games and reached in every game played this season.
• Nick Wilson finished the season as Walla Walla’s only all-league selection being names to the all WCL team as an honorable mention.
• Walla Walla’s pitching staff finished 2nd in the WCL in strikeouts with 457.

WALLA WALLA, WA – The West Coast League today announced the All – WCL team selections for the 2022 summer season, with pitcher Nick Wilson being named as an honorable mention.

Wilson joined the Sweets by way of Southern University in Louisiana. This past season with the Sweets Wilson finished with a 2-0 record, 1.45 ERA (second best among starters), and 26 strikeouts in nine games and five starts.

“I’d like to thank god, my family, my host family, teammates, coaches, and all of Sweets Country for an amazing experience.” said Wilson “I am truly blessed for the opportunity and I’m glad that I was able to take full advantage of the chance I was given.”

Wilson joined the Sweets working this past season as a relief pitcher at Southern. With the Jags Wilson pitched 33.2 innings and finished with a 7.49 ERA. However since joining the Sweets has developed into a true ace becoming one of the Sweets most impressive pitchers in a loaded group of starters.

#NickyPDay #SweetsCountry

WENATCHEE, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets wrapped up their 2022 season with a win as they took down the AppleSox 7-5 in come-from-behind fashion. The Sweets were pushed ahead by a five-run top of the ninth inning where Zach Ediger drove in three runs for the Sweets to take the final game of the year.

The Sweets would get on the board first as Rustin Edmiston would drive in Kevin Spear in the top of the second. However, Wenatchee would take the lead in the bottom of the third scoring two runs to take a one-run lead into the fourth.

In the fourth the Sweets would find the tying run in Rustin Edmiston by way of a Tucker Zander RBI base hit. 

Scoring would halt until the seventh when Wenatchee would take a two run lead by way of an Ezra Samperi base hit and a throwing error to catch Joichiro Oyama stealing second. Oyama however was retired following the throw down as he would try to move to third but Rustin Edmiston would make the tag off a Kevin Spear throw across.

The Sweets trailed by two in the ninth but that would quickly change as Ediger aproched the plate with the bases loaded and only one out. Ediger would slip one passed Oyama at second and score two runs and a third by way of a throwing error in right field. Two at bats later Nick Seamons would get his third home run of the season to guide the Sweets past the AppleSox as Ediger would close things out for the Sweets on the mound. 

WENATCHEE, Wash- Walla Walla fell to the AppleSox by an identical 10-1 margin in game two in Wenatchee. With the loss, the Sweets drop the series vs Wenatchee in their final series of the year.

Walla Walla would go down early allowing a run to score in the bottom of the first by way of a CJ Horn RBI ground out. The Sweets would also give up a pair of runs in the second before allowing an explosive bottom of the third to put things out of reach early.

The Sweets would give up four runs in the bottom of the third to go down 7-0. The inning would end on a RBI drop third strike wild pitch. Hayden Hattenbach would sit down Joichiro Oyama but Cole Cramer would score on the drop third strike coming in before the punch out of Oyama was recorded.

Walla Walla was able to get a run across as Nick Seamons would continue his impressive stretch by being driven in by his LC State teammate in Charlie Updegrave and his RBI double in the fourth.

The Sweets end their season tomorrow afternoon as they finish the series with Wenatchee.

WENATCHEE, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets fell to the AppleSox 10-1 as the AppleSox would clinch a playoff spot with the win vs the Sweets.

Walla Walla and Wenatchee would both trade strong defensive innings to start. However, the third inning saw five runs come aboard for Wenatchee.  AppleSox pitcher Evan Canfield would guide Wenatchee to the win going five scoreless innings allowing only two hits and striking out five.

Albert Roblez would struggle in the third however was solid with the exception of the lone inning. Without the third Roblez wouldn’t allow a run and only give up two hits in his final appearance with Walla Walla.

The Sweets would not find offense until the top of the eighth where Nick Seamons would go yard for the second time this season. Seamons has been very impressive for the Sweets since joining in the series vs Portland, batting .219, slugging .469 with 2 HR’s.

NEXT GAME- vs Wenatchee 8/6/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets took down Ridgefield 7-2 in the Sweets home finale. Walla Walla was also able to take the series with Ridgefield in the process to help boost the Sweets to 22-29 on the year.

The contest wasn’t only the final home game of the season it was also the final game at Borleske for Leo Rivera. Rivera spent four years playing at Borleske with Whitman College and the Sweets sent the captain of the Blues out with a bang. Rivera would play all nine positions starting the game behind the plate and ending on the mound. On the mound, Rivera finishes off his season with a 0.00 ERA in five games, including a 1-0 record and 1 save (non-league vs CCL).

The Sweets would get on the board first by way of a RBI balk driving in Malcolm Williams from third to score the first run of a two run third inning.

Williams come around to score again in the fifth where the man of the hour at Borleske as Rivera would knock him in to make it a 4-1 game.

The Sweets would get a solid start from Jace Hanson who would go a season high six innings striking out a season tying five batters in the process.

Walla Walla would hold onto the lead the entire way and eventually take the series vs Ridgefield. The Sweets will finish off their season starting tomorrow as they go to Wenatchee to face off with the AppleSox.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets fell to Ridgefield 11-4 yesterday as the Raptors clinched a playoff spot with the win over Walla Walla.

The Sweets gave up the first two runs of the ball game by way of Jacob Sharps WCL leading 12th home run. However in the bottom half of the inning Nick Seamons would cut the lead in half getting his first homer of the season to make it a 2-1 game after three.

In the fourth inning the Sweets would tie up the ball game with a Rustin Edmiston RBI base hit scoring Derek Gellos in his final game with the Sweets.
Gellos would have an incredible day going 3/4 with a double in his Sweets finale.

Walla Walla would not be able to keep the game tied however as Ridgefield would go on to score five runs in the fifth inning to eventually take things 11-4.
Ridgefield currently holds the three seed in the WCL South division and has clinched a post season birth.

WALLA WALLA, Wash-The Walla Walla Sweets fell to Corvallis 1-0 in the series finale between the Sweets and the Knights. With the loss, the Sweets drop to 20-28 on the year as they get set for their final home series with Ridgefield.

The Sweets were led by a fantastic first start by Kolby Solomon who went four shutout innings striking out six batters in the process. Solomon made his first start of the year and had by far his best outing of the year, going for a season-high in innings pitched and strikeouts.

While Walla Walla had a great start, Corvallis’s starter Matt Scott would match things going 4.1 innings striking out six of his own and not allowing a run.

The first run of the game would not come until the top of the seventh when Logan Johnstone would pop up to right field scoring Temo Becerra. Becerra would get on by way of a hit by pitch and would move over to third by way of a sacrifice bunt.

Things would boil down to the bottom of the ninth where the Sweets would have the bases loaded and nobody down trailing by one. However, a 6-2-5 double play would put two outs on the board and the Sweets would end up leaving the bases loaded in the final inning falling to Corvallis 1-0.

NEXT GAME- Ridgefield 8/2/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets fell in game two with Corvallis 11-1. With the loss, Walla Walla falls to 20-27 overall on the year sitting 6 games back of Bend for the final wild-card spot.

Walla Walla couldn’t find offense early as they traded scoreless innings to start off the ball game. However, in the second inning, Corvallis would explode for four runs in the top of the second.  Corvallis would add four more runs with three being scored in the fourth and one in the sixth.

The Sweets would find a run on the board in the eighth as Derek Gellos would drive in Kevin Spear to get the Sweets their first run of the ball game. Corvallis would be able to answer the run scored in the eighth with three more being added in the top of the ninth.

With a loss in game two the Sweets are eliminated from a second half championship. With a loss tomorrow and a Bend win the Sweets will be officially eliminated from playoff contention.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets fell to Corvallis in game one of the weekend 16-3. With the loss, it drops Walla Walla to 20-26 on the year and four games back of Bend for the final wild card birth (pending second-half champion).

The Sweets came into the game severally short-handed as pitcher Nick Wilson was the game’s right fielder. However, Wilson wasn’t the only pitcher to play the field as Zach Ediger would also work in left field after a swarm of defensive adjustments for Walla Walla.

Corvallis was not able to find runs till the third inning where they exploded for five runs and never looked back.

The Sweets finally found an answer in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kevin Spear drove in Nick Seamons following his one out triple cut the lead to nine.

A big positive for the Sweets was the performance of Walla Walla CC’s Hayden Thompson who came in for AC Plum and shut down Corvallis. Thompson would go 2.1 innings scoreless striking out four in the process.

PORTLAND, Oreg- The Sweets dropped the series finale at Portland 4-0. Portland has now swept the Sweets taking all six games of the season series between the Sweets and Pickles. With the loss, Walla Walla now sits 20-25 five games out of a playoff spot.

The contest followed a similar formula as the previous night with Portland scoring first with Jacob Jablonski grounding to short but driving in a run in the process. That’s all the Pickles would need to win the ball game as the Sweets were held scoreless. The Sweets did not score a run for 26 straight innings after scoring in the top of the first in game one.

A positive for the Sweets was the pitching as Liam Miller started the ball game going three innings and allowing only two earned runs. Zach Hangas also made his debut for Walla Walla going 1.2 innings allowing only one hit and no runs.

The Sweets get set for a huge contest with Corvallis with massive implications regarding the post season. Walla Walla now sits 6.5 games back of Corvallis for the top spot in the 2nd half and sit 5 games back of Bend who currently has the four seed.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- Due to extreme heat over the next few days, the start times for the next three Sweets games have been pushed back to 7:35 p.m., as opposed to the usual 7:05 p.m. start. The Sweets look to bring their own heat back to Borleske as they host the WCL-leading Corvallis Knights.

While the game time will be pushed back it will not interfere with the promotional schedule of the series.  The series is a part of players’ weekend as the Sweets will be wearing custom uniforms with their nicknames on the back.

On top of the uniform changes the Sweets will also be giving away a pair of tickets to next years MLB All Star Game to one lucky fan in attendance to Fridays contest with Corvallis.

Walla Walla is in control of their own destiny as they sit 5.5 games back of a second half title as well as 5 games back of what currently is the final wildcard spot. Walla Walla rounds out their home slate with Corvallis and Ridgefield in the next week.

PORTLAND, Oreg- Walla Walla fell to the Pickles 2-0 on Wednesday. With the loss, the Sweets would drop the series on the road and will look to avoid being swept in the season series tomorrow.

The Sweets were led by another solid start from Caden Kaelber who would go five innings allowing only two runs while striking out six. The first of the two runs given up came in the first inning with Michael Campagna driving in Blake Wink to start off the game.

Walla Walla couldn’t find an answer however as they were shutout in the contest vs Portland. Walla Walla did have chances however leaving eight runners on base in the ball game.

Walla Walla would do a good job defensively holding the amount of runs down as Portland would only be able to get runners across in the first and seventh innings.

The Sweets now sit at 20-24 and will look to avoid the sweep by the hands of the Pickles tomorrow.

PORTLAND, Oreg- The Walla Walla Sweets fell 8-1 in the first game of the series vs Portland. Walla Walla falls to now 20-23 on the year and 4.5 games back in the second-half title and four games out of Bend who holds the four seed.

The Sweets got on the board in the first inning as Cooper Cross extended his hit streak to 12 games while also extending an RBI streak to five games with a double to take a 1-0 lead.

The Sweets would hold that lead until Blake Wink would tie up the game at 1 with an sacrifice fly RBI in the third. In that inning Eddie Saldivar would lay down a bunt for a hit to end 2.2 hitless innings for Jace Hanson who worked very well for the Sweets even in a losing outcome.

Hanson would go five innings for the Sweets giving up only two runs with the second coming by way of a solo homer in the fourth.

The Sweets however, would give up another huge inning to the Pickles as Portland would score six runs in the seventh inning to walk out of Walker with a victory.

NEXT GAME- Portland 7/27/22 8:05 PM

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — A lucky Walla Walla Sweets fan who attends Friday’s game at Borleske Stadium will receive tickets to one of the hottest baseball events coming to the Pacific Northwest next summer.

A pair of tickets to the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which will be held at T-Mobile Park in Seattle next July, will be given to one fan through a random selection of all scanned admission tickets for that night.

“We’re very excited to be able to do this for our fans in Sweets Country,” Walla Walla general manager Cody Miller said. “With the All-Star Game coming back to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in 20 years, what better way to celebrate than this!”

The Sweets’ sibling team, the Yakima Valley Pippins, also will give away a pair of All-Star Game tickets on Saturday, July 30.

All fans who purchase a single-game ticket for the game online at SweetsTickets.com, in advance by calling 509-522-BALL, at the Sweets Shoppe in downtown Walla Walla, or at the box office on game day have a chance to win. Season-ticket holders, mini-plan buyers and group tickets for that night also are eligible to win.

The game is the middle contest of a key West Coast League South Division series between the Sweets and the Corvallis Knights, as the Sweets continue their second-half surge and are chasing a spot in the WCL playoffs.

Miller said the winner will be announced after the seventh inning.
Gates open at 6:30 p.m. Friday, with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets fell to the AppleSox to round out their homestand 10-5 in game three. The Sweets would still win the series taking the first two games but weren’t able to sweep the AppleSox.

Walla Walla would go ahead early scoring three runs by way of three bases-loaded walks in the first inning.  The Sweets would however give up fiver combined runs in the third and fourth innings allowing the AppleSox to pull ahead.

In the third and fourth innings a pair of ejections were handed out to Correy Jarrell and Adam Fahsel. Jarrell was ejected after a lengthy delay regarding a quick pitch ruling and Fahsel was tossed after arguing a strikeout.

The Sweets would find a run in the sixth but Wenatchee would get a huge top of the seventh scoring four runs.

In the ninth, the Sweets would allow a run go in the top half but would fight in the ninth. Cooper Cross would extend his hit streak while also giving him the team leading 21st RBI on the season.

Even with the loss Walla Walla would win their fourth straight set and current sit on 3.5 games out of a playoff spot.

NEXT- Portland 7/26/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- Walla Walla rolled over Wenatchee scoring eight runs in the first four innings to take things 11-7. Stu Flesland would also lift the Sweets past the AppleSox pitching five innings with nine strikeouts, a season high this year for Walla Walla.

Walla Walla again got on the board first putting a three spot on the board in the first inning and adding two more in the second. Cooper Cross would get the Sweets on the board first extending his now ten-game hit streak while also giving himself his team-best 19th RBI of the year.

Later in the ball game Joey Craig would continue his Borleske dominance with his third Joey Bomb in the last week as well as on the season.

Walla Walla and Wenatchee would trade runs in the fourth and fifth with the AppleSox cutting the lead to four going into the the ninth. In the eighth and ninth innings Matt Flores would take over for Quinten O’Connor and get the Sweets out with the victory.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Sweets would continue to roll taking down Wenatchee 4-3 in game one of the series. Kaikea Harrison would drive in two runs in the eighth to lift Walla Walla to the win over Wenatchee.

The AppleSox struck first as both sides would exchange runs in the third inning.  Cooper Cross would drive in Malcolm Williams to extend his hit strike to nine games, It would also give Cross his 18th RBI of the season tying him for 2nd on the Sweets.

Wenatchee found the lead back in the next inning scoring one and taking the lead until the bottom of the sixth when Kevin Spear would go yard for the first time this season tying up the ball game.

That score would stay the same till Kaikea Harrison would get a two-run base hit to give the Sweets the lead in the eighth, giving Andrew Baughn the insurance to get the win in the ninth.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets fell in the final game of the series with Springfield as the Drifters were able to avoid the Sweep by the hands of the Sweets.

Walla Walla would strike first scoring one in the fourth inning thanks to Malcolm Williams ground out to score Derek Gellos. The Sweets however wouldn’t be able to hold onto the lead as Springfield would score three runs in the next half inning.

The Sweets would continue to fight scoring one run in the next inning with a Cooper Cross RBI double which was moments away from tying up the game but Leo Rivera was tagged out at the plate to end the inning.

At that point the Sweets would cut the lead to two but again Springfield would strike with Jordan Justice scoring on a wild pitch.

In the eighth the Sweets would cut the lead back to only one with Cooper Cross again driving in a run with a base hit. However, the Sweets couldn’t continue the offense in the ninth inning.

The Sweets would still take the series vs the Drifters and take their third straight series and now sit 6-4 in their last 10 and 18-21 on the year sitting only 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot in the south division.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to extend their win streak and take their third straight series with the game two win vs Springfield.  The Sweets were able to take down the Drifters 4-3 and move to 18-20 on the season.

The Sweets were led by a pitching gem by Caden Kaelber who would go seven scoreless innings in his return to Borleske in a starting role for the Sweets.  The former WCL 1st team selection would give Walla Walla possibly their best performance all year in his debut this summer going longer than any Sweets pitcher this season.

The Sweets would strike first scoring four runs in the first inning thanks to RBI base hits from Leo Rivera and Joey Craig. Again however the Sweets would not get back on the board being blanked for the entirety of the ball game following the first.

The Drifters would be held in check all the way till the ninth inning when Isiah Thomas would get a three-run homer to cut the lead to only one. However, Jace Hanson would come in for Walla Walla and was able to shut things down in the ninth while also recording two strikeouts for the Sweets.

NEXT GAME 7/21/22 Springfield

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets took down Springfield 10-5 in the series opener and the first ever game between the two squads in Walla Walla. The Sweets would be led by a seven-run first inning and a Joey Craig grand slam.

The first inning is where the Sweets would do a bulk of their damage. The Sweets would walk in three runs with the bases loaded to take the lead 3-0. With the lead Joey Craig would continue his hot streak with his second home run of year coming with the bases loaded to give Walla Walla a 7-0 lead after one inning.

Following that inning the offense would cool off not seeing runs score until the eighth inning.  During that time Springfield would score five runs without an answer by Walla Walla.

In the top of the eighth Matt Flores would come in to pitch for Walla Walla and helped give the an added boost. In the eighth Joey Craig would drive in Malcolm Williams to get his fifth RBI on the contest. Ben Schulte and Joey Craig would also help drive in runs for the Sweets to extend the lead to five going into the final inning, where Flores and the Sweets would get out and take game one. 

NEXT GAME- Springfield 7/20/22

KELOWNA, B.C- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to take down Kelowna in the series finale 6-4. The win gives the Sweets their second straight series win and puts them at 4-5 in the second half of the WCL season.

Walla Walla would strike first for a third straight game as Kevin Spear tried to steal second allowing JJ Gerarden to score but Spear would be tagged out in order to end the inning. While scoring first the lead did not last long as Kelowna would score three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-1 lead.

The Sweets would then find their way back into the ball game , when in the fifth inning Derek Gellos would drill a shot into right field allowing Joey Craig and Josh Williams to score with a two-run triple. That would tie the game up at three each but following that big inning Shea Thomas would score on a wild pitch to give the lead back to the Falcons.

Sweets would again find the runs late thanks to Josh Williams. Williams would hammer a shot down the right field line with two on, which would easily clear the wall for his sixth home run on the season and would give Walla Walla the lead 6-4 which they would eventually hold onto for the win.

NEXT GAME- Springfield 7/19/22

KELOWNA, B.C- Walla Walla was able to get a huge game two win over Kelowna 13-10 as Leo Rivera would enter the game to pitch for the Sweets in the eighth innings. Rivera would record two strikeouts in two scoreless innings of work to pick up the win.

The Sweets would again go down early as Kelowna would take a 2-1 lead after the first inning. Walla Walla would match every bit of offense the Falcons would give until the fourth inning of work when Kelowna would put a five-spot up to take a four-run lead.

Walla Walla would continue to fight however as they were down by five after five innings but then the switch would be flipped by Walla Walla. In the top of the sixth the Sweets would score three runs to cut the deficit.

That would just be the start for the Sweets as they would score nine runs unanswered in the final four innings  to take game two 13-10.

NEXT GAME- vs Kelowna 7/17/22

KELOWNA, B.C-The Walla Walla Sweets fell to the Kelowna Falcons 5-4 as their late game comeback came up short. Walla Walla would score four runs late but couldn’t find enough offense after a slow start.

The Sweets went down by five after the first four innings. During those innings, the biggest struggle for the Sweets was offense as Jasper Nelson would go four innings of no-hit ball for Kelowna.

The Sweets would find their first hit by Kai Osaka in the sixth. Osaka was excellent for the Sweets on the day finishing 1/2 with two hit-by pitches. Even after breaking up the no-no the Sweets still trailed by five.

The Sweets would get help by things defensively to keep themselves in the ball game as Jace Hanson would come in for Albert Roblez and go four innings allowing only three hits and no earned runs.

With the help defensively Walla Walla would find a spark offensively as they would score four runs in the top of the eighth.  The Sweets would work with the bases loaded and do a good amount of damage but couldn’t tie things up going the rest of the way.

NEXT GAME- 7/16/22 vs Kelowna

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to walk things off in the final game of the homestand vs Bend 9-8 in 10 innings. Ben Schulte worked with the bases loaded scoring Leo Rivera by way of a fielding error at first.

Sweets would trail early as Bend would score the first two runs of the ball game in the second and third. The Sweets would find an answer with Cooper Cross scoring on a wild pitch to get Walla Walla on the board.

The bottom of the sixth was big for the Sweets as Walla Walla would put up three runs in the bottom of the inning as Davis Mieliwocki and Malcolm Williams would drive in runs to give the Sweets the lead. Mieliwocki’s day would continue to be impressive as he would add two more RBI’s to his line with a base hit in the seventh.

Things looked down for Walla Walla following a five-run top of the eighth by Bend, but Walla Walla would find an answer by way of a “Joey Bomb” by Joey Craig to start the bottom of the inning, his first of the season. Kai Osaka would keep the party going scoring Derek Gellos with a RBI triple.

Walla Walla would go into the ninth trailing by one and Joey Craig would again keep hope alive for the Sweets. Craig would get a base hit to score Cooper Cross to tie up the contest at 8-8 but was thrown out at second to go into extras.

Cayden Herbst would strike out two batters in the tenth to give the Sweets the chance to walk things off, which they would with the fielding error and Leo Rivera coming in to take the series for Walla Walla.

The series win is Walla Walla’s first since the end of June vs Springfield.

NEXT GAME- Kelowna 7/15/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets fell in the series opener with Bend 13-7. Walla Walla would drop their sixth straight game and fall to 12-19 on the season.

Walla Walla would be able to strike first scoring two runs in the bottom of the second thanks to Cooper Cross’s two-run base hit. Following the second things would go downhill for the Sweets, Bend would score nine runs unanswered.

The Sweets would find offense in the bottom of the fifth thanks to Leo Rivera and JJ Gerarden with RBI base hits.  However, just as the Sweets would find momentum Bend would take things right back scoring two in the top of the sixth.

Late in the evening Sweets would score two runs in the eighth with again Bend matching them in the top of the ninth.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets dropped their fifth straight contest as they were swept by the hands of the Portland Pickles. Pickles hand the Sweets their first sweep as Portland took down Walla Walla 10-2 in the series finale.

Again the Sweets would trail early as Portland would score one in the first inning of work. Portland starter Payton Jones was lights out on the evening going five shutout innings while striking out nine Sweets in the process.

The Sweets were able to keep the game at that 1-0 margin thanks to a solid outing by Hayden Hattenbach who was able to go five innings of his own while striking out five. He would see three runs total go by but only two of them being earned.

Portland would take a 6-0 lead before the Sweets would find an answer in the bottom of the eighth. In that inning Walla Walla would see Ben Schulte score on a fielders choice play and Malcolm Williams score on a flyout by Cooper Cross.

Sweets would then allow four runs in the ninth and couldn’t find an answer late.

Next Game- Bend 7/12/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- For the second straight game the Walla Walla Sweets would allow a late inning comeback as they fell to the Portland Pickles 13-6. Sweets were not able to hold onto a one run lead in the ninth as Portland would score seventh runs in the top of the ninth.

The Sweets go down early but would be able to take the lead in the seventh scoring three runs in the inning to take a 6-5 lead. Devan Ornelas and Leo River would both be able to drive in runs for Walla Walla and help take the lead.

However for the second time in the last 24 hours the Sweets would allow a late game comeback, and arguably today’s was worse. Yesterday at Bend the Sweets would allow seven runs in the bottom in the eighth and today in the top of the ninth the Sweets would give up eight runs to Portland in the ninth.

NEXT GAME- 7/9/22

BEND, Ore- The Walla Walla Sweets dropped the series finale with the Bend Elks 9-4 as the Sweets let up seven runs in the eighth inning. Walla Walla drops to 12-15 and three games below .500 for the first time this season.

Things looked good to start for Walla Walla as Nick Wilson went five innings allowing only one earned run in his start. Bend would strike first but the Sweets would answer with two runs in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead. Walla Walla would take the lead as Jarred Mazzaferro and Cooper Cross would drive in runs for the Sweets.

Mazzaferro would get his second RBI on the day as he drove in Kevin Spear to take 4-2 lead in the sixth.

However, in the eighth things would go hard south for Walla Walla. Kolby Solomon would walk two batters before being taken out and then Riley Kasper would hit a first pitch bomb off of Albert Roblez to start a seven run eighth inning for Bend.

NEXT GAME- 7/8/22 Portland

BEND, Ore- The Walla Walla Sweets were unable to win back-to-back matchups as the fell to Bend 8-1. The Sweets were blanked until the eight inning as they fall to 12-14 on the season.

Walla Walla would trail early as Bend would put up a run in the first as Brady Kasper would drive in a run for the Elks. The Sweets would keep things close even with bend scoring two runs in the third.

In the fourth inning things would break open for the Elks. Bend would put up four runs in the fourth extending the lead to 7-0. Beau Sylvester would be able to finish off the inning with a two-run bomb for Bend.

The Sweets would eventually get one run on the board thanks to a Josh Williams sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to 8-1.

Next Game- Bend 7/7/22

BEND, Or- The Walla Walla Sweets took down the Bend Elks 8-5 thanks to a pair of bombs from Josh Williams. The Sweets took an early lead thanks to Josh Williams and JJ Gerarden both leaving the yard in back-to-back at bats to put the Sweets on top.

Walla Walla would start off hot like previously mentioned. Gerarden and Williams would go back-to-back with solo homers in the first. Then in the second Walla Walla would score two more runs to take a 4-2 lead into the fourth when Josh Williams would send one out for the second time in the contest.

Things would get rocky as Bend wouldn’t go down easy. The Elks would keep things close for a majority of the contest. The Sweets would still sit on top going into the ninth. Ben was able to get a run to score with the bases loaded in the ninth inning to make it a three run game. However, Trent Sellers would work in the ninth for Walla Walla and get Elijah Jackson to pop up to end the ball game.

Next Game- 7/6/22 Bend

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to pick up the victory over the CCL to round out their homestand on the Fourth of July. Sweets still remain perfect in non-league play

The day started off well as Walla Walla would get offense early scoring three runs in the 2nd inning. In the 2nd Kai Osaka would help score two runs by way of a few throwing errors scoring Jordan Andrade and Joey Craig. Will Fuenning would ground out but score Kai Osaka to extend the lead for Walla Walla and start and impressive day for Fuenning.

Fuenning’s impressive day would be highlighted in the fourth inning where Fuenning would get home run number two on the year (not in WCL play) to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Sweets would get into trouble in the ninth as AC Plum would load the bases and allow four runs to score. Malcolm Williams would see one go by, but Leo Rivera would come in to replace Williams and would get the final out the Sweets needed.

Next Game- Bend 7/5/22

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets fell in both games of the doubleheader today vs Kelowna. Kelowna was able to take game one 5-1 and shutout the Sweets in game two 5-0.

Game one for the Sweets was going well thanks to a great start from Stu Flesland. However the Sweets would struggle getting any run support as Flesland’s day would conclude after another five shutout inning performance.  In the sixth Quinten O’Connor would walk the bases loaded and Liam Miller would see five runs go by in replacement.

Josh Williams was solid for the Sweets going 2/2 with a double and a triple in game one but was left on the base pads on both of his extra base hits.

In game two, Walla Walla wouldn’t be able to find any offense. The Sweets were no hit through five innings as Malcolm Williams was able to get a ground ball up the middle but at tat point it was already to late.

NEXT GAME- 7/4/22 vs CCL

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to take down their neighbors from the north in the Kelowna Falcons 7-4 on Friday night. Sweets were able to get back to .500 with the win.

The Sweets were led by another gem by Andrew Baughn who pitched five scoreless innings while only allowing one hit. Baughn’s day would end probably the best way one could ask for, which was by his seventh strike out. His seventh strikeout of the contest came against his brother Matt who plays for Kelowna.

The Sweets would find offense in the third inning as with the bases loaded first Cooper Cross would score Joey Craig, then Jordan Andrade would walk in Malcolm Williams. Davis Mieliwocki would help score Mazzaferro on a fielders choice play. Finally, Cooper Cross would score on a wild pitch.

The Sweets would hold the lead the whole way through and take game one of the series 7-4. Game two of the set is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:05 pm

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to pick up the victory in the series finale over Yakima Valley. The contest was also the final game for Manager Van Horn as he goes back to New Mexico State in a full time role.

The contest followed a similar formula as the first two games vs Yakima as both sides had very solid starts on the mound, with both pitchers going scoreless through four innings. Nick Wilson would pitch fiver shutout innings and in the fifth inning the offense would come alive for Walla Walla. Sweets would take a 3-0 lead following the fifth as Derek Gellos would score Jared Mazzaferro and Will Fuenning to give the Sweets the lead.

Walla Walla would add a run in each the sixth and the seventh to take a 5-0 lead into the ninth. The ninth was a bit dramatic for the Sweets but Kolby Solomon would help get the Sweets out after allowing the three runs to score for Yakima Valley.

The win is the final for Van Horn as he will be replaced by pitching coach Brandon Vial as he embarks to New Mexico State. Vial will be taking over the role as manager for the rest of the season for the Sweet. Vial will continue to be assisted by Peter Abinanti.

Sweets get set for a out of division matchup with Kelowna tomorrow at 7:05 pm.

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were unable to get the win in the second game of the series vs Yakima Valley, as the Pippins would clinch the series victory 9-3. The Sweets now sit two games below .500 at 9-11 on the year.

The contest started off with great pitching from Dylan Matsuoka for the Sweets and Tyler Frieders for Yakima Valley. Matsuoka would go scoreless for three inning only allowing one hit. However in Matsuoka’s fourth and fifth innings of work he would allow five runs to go by which were the first he’s led up all year long.

Frieders would shut the Sweets down not allowing the Sweets to get a hit for the first five innings. The Sweets would break up the no-hitter in the fifth with Jared Mazzaferro. Walla Walla wouldn’t find a run till they trailed 9-0 and the hill was ultimately too steep for the Sweets to climb.

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — First-year Sweets manager Brandon Van Horn, who joined the team earlier this month after New Mexico State’s improbable but exciting run through the Division I baseball playoffs after Walla Walla’s season had started, has accepted a full-time coaching position with the Aggies.

Van Horn, a volunteer assistant with the Aggies in 2021 and 2022, will become a paid assistant coach. Because his new role begins July 1, Van Horn’s last game coaching the Sweets will be Thursday.

While Van Horn’s departure after just a few weeks with the team is a surprise, Sweets general manager Cody Miller said the promotion of the former minor-leaguer is an example of what hard work can do, whether as a player or a coach.

“Even in just a few weeks here, Brandon has had a big impact on our players and team-building,” Miller said. “He’s always working to help players improve, whether it’s in batting practice or during games. He gives 100 percent and leads by example.”

“With the landscape of college baseball, you spend two years as a true volunteer, and then getting rewarded from the university and coach (Mike) Kirby to get to be a full-time assistant, we’re so, so grateful and super lucky,” Van Horn said shortly before the Sweets’ batting practice Wednesday.

“We’ve been blessed to be able to come up here for the time that we have had, and to build a relationship with the people of Walla Walla,” he said. “They’ve been awesome, as has everyone with the Sweets.”

Pitching coach Brandon Vial will become interim manager, and Peter Abananti will remain as assistant coach, Miller said.

Before Van Horn joined the Sweets, the Aggies won the Western Athletic Conference tournament in mid-May and earned an automatic berth in the Division I playoffs, their first since 2018. The postseason run extended past the start of the Sweets’ 2022 season, and Van Horn made his Walla Walla debut on the team’s home opener on June 10.

Van Horn played for four years in the minors in the San Francisco Giants’ farm system. After San Francisco drafted him in the 19th round in 2016, Van Horn reached as high as Triple A in the minors.

“One of the best lessons I learned in professional baseball was that you never know who’s watching,” Van Horn said. “That usually comes with a negative connotation, but you can flip that into a positive because you never know what kid is sitting in the stands watching, and he wants to grow up to be a Walla Walla Sweet, and he sees one guy, he sees josh Williams get a hit and that inspires him even more.

“This game is full of opportunities, and you never know what that is going to look like, ” Van Horn said. “It could be a little one or it could be a bunch of them, but you’ve got to be ready for them.”

WALLA WALLA, WA- The Walla Walla Sweets dropped their first game back at home to the Yakima Valley Pippins. With the loss the Sweets dropped back to below .500 now sitting at 9-10 on the season.

The Sweets fell behind early as two runs would score for the Pippins in the top of the first. Sweets pitcher Tyler Hoeft actually was able to get a strikeout that would’ve ended the inning however a dropped third strike to Connor Coballes put a runner on first and the inning would continue. The Pips’ would load the bases and Sam Olsson would drive two runs in to take the lead in the first.

Walla Walla would find an answer as Davis Mieliwocki would score by Devan Ornelas’s base hit. Malcolm Williams and Kai Osaka would both score on wild pitches which would give the Sweets the lead. Walla Walla would hold that lead until the eighth thanks to a great start from Tyler Hoeft.

But in the eigth the Sweets would allow two runs to score and wouldn’t be able to come back in the ninth.

SPRINGFIELD, OR-   The Walla Walla Sweets were able to end their lengthy road trip with a victory as they took down the Drifters 5-2. The Sweets Were also able to fight back to .500 now at 9-9 on the season.

The day started with once again excellent pitching from Stu Flesland who would pick up the win for Walla Walla going five shutout innings and recording six strikeouts, while only allowing one hit on the day.

The Sweets would get offense behind him in the third, as JJ Gerarden would get his first homer of the season with a high fly to left to put Walla Walla on top.

The Sweets would score two more runs in the fourth as the birthday boy Leo Rivera was able to get an RBI base hit and Julian Alvarez would follow his lead to give the Sweets a 3-0 lead going into the 6 sixth inning.

In the Sixth the Drifters would finally answer to cut the lead to only one but Walla Walla would get those runs back in the top of the seventh to take the final game of the weekend set with the Drifters.

Next game- 6/28 vs Yakima Valley

SPRINGFIELD, OR- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to take game two of the series vs the Drifters to end their three-game losing streak on Saturday.  The Sweets would also record their first shutout of the year as they would defeat Springfield 1-0.

Cameron Scudder would have his best outing of the year going five shutout innings with four strikeouts, only allowing three hits.  Scudder would get the win in his longest outing of the season, previously not going more than three.

The Sweets offensively struggled again only putting up one run. Walla Walla has now been outscored 26-13 in the last four contest.

The Sweets lone run of the game would be scored by Cooper Cross who came in to score thanks to Will Fuenning who was able to get back on track with a one for three outing with a base hit and a walk. Fuenning had his 12 game on base streak snapped in game one vs Springfield but was able to reach safely twice in game two.

The Sweets get set for the finale tomorrow as they try to get back to .500 sitting now at 8-9.

Next Game- Springfield 6/26

SPRINGFIELD, OR- The Walla Walla Sweets fell to the Springfield Drifters 7-2 in the first-ever meeting between the two franchises.   For a third straight game, the Sweets trailed by multiple runs after 3 innings and were not able to come back.

Springfield was led by a two-run three-hit complete game by Dylan O’Connor who was able to pick up the victory over Walla Walla. O’Connor was perfect through 4 2/3 innings as Walla Walla would make an almost full team substitution. Derek Gellos would break up perfection with a two-out base hit in the fifth. Gellos would come around to score thanks to DH Cooper Cross.

The Sweets would only be able to score the two runs in the top of the fifth and the Drifters would go on to score four runs including a two-run bomb in the eighth by Jordan Justice.

NEXT GAME- Springfield 6/25

CORVALLIS, OR- After taking game one the Walla Walla Sweets would drop back to back, as they would fall to the Corvallis Knights 9-5 in the series finale. Walla Walla would move to 7-8 on the year as they head back on the road to face off with Springfield this weekend.

For back-to-back games, the Sweets would trail 4-0 as Corvallis was able to start off the contest with another impressive first inning. The Knights would score three runs in the first taking Sweets starter, Anthony Fidanza, out after only one inning of work.

The Sweets would find an answer to keep things within grasp in the third. Leo Rivera would get his 13th RBI as he was able to get a double to score Derek Gellos to cut the lead to 3.

Walla Walla would then score 2 in the fifth thanks to Will Fuenning who had a two-run base hit to cut the lead to 2. But in the next inning Corvallis would re-extend the lead with a three spot put up in the bottom of the sixth.

Walla Walla would score 2 in the seventh and Corvallis would answer scoring one run to seal the deal in the bottom half of the inning.

NEXT GAME – 6/24/22 vs Springfield

CORVALLIS, OR- The Walla Walla Sweets were unable to pick up the game two victory as they fell to the Corvallis Knights 10-5. The Sweets fell behind early as Corvallis was able to take an 8-0 lead through three innings and never looked back.

The Sweets would trail the whole way, mainly due to a five-run bottom of the 1st from Corvallis. In that first Inning Sweets pitcher, Tyler Hoeft would allow five runs on five hits. Hoeft would take the loss for Walla Walla going only two innings and allowing seven runs (5 earned).

The Sweets would retaliate in the 5th where they were able to cut the deficit in half to only four. However, Corvallis would answer back and score two more runs in the final few frames on their way to a 10th victory on the season. With the loss Walla Walla falls back to .500 and 7-7.

Walla Walla will round out the series vs Corvallis tomorrow before heading back on the road to Springfield this weekend.

CORVALLIS, Or- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to hand the Corvallis Knights their first loss of the season, as Walla Walla took game one of the series 2-1. The Sweets improve to 7-6 and move above .500 for the second time this season.

The Sweets were led by excellent pitching as Alec Holmes went 5 scoreless innings (allowed one unearned) followed by Dylan Matsuoka and Stu Flesland coming in to secure the victory for the Sweets. Holmes picked up the victory for his performance allowing only three hits in 5 innings en route to his first victory with the Sweets. Stu Flesland would get the save, coming in to work in the 8th and striking out four of the seven batters he faced.

The lone scoring in the matchup would come in the third inning as JJ Gerrarden would drive in Malcolm Williams with a RBI triple. Gerraden would then score the next at bat by way of a sacrifice fly by Josh Williams to make it 2-0.

Corvallis would score a run in the bottom of the third to answer however were not able to come back as the 3rd inning would be enough for the Sweets to take game one.

Next Game- 6:35 PM vs Corvallis

PORT ANGELES, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets fell to the Lefties 5-3 in the series finale. The loss to Port Angeles snaps a six-game win streak for the Sweets.

The Lefties would take an early lead thanks to a lead-off home run from Evan Jilbert in the 3rd. The Lefties would then match the lead-off bomb in the 3rd with a lead-off shot from Riley Parker in the next inning. Port Angeles would add two more runs in the 4th to give them a 3-0 lead after 4 frames.

The Sweets wouldn’t go down without a fight as they would score two runs in the 6th thanks to RBI’s from Josh Williams and Leo Rivera.

The Lefties would answer with a run in the bottom of the 6th which would ultimately be enough to lift them pass the Sweets to move to 8-9 on the year. With the loss the Sweets move to 6-6 as they head to Corvallis next week.

PORT ANGELES, Wash- The Sweets were able to extend their win streak to now six games (three in WCL play) as they took game 2 over the Lefties 7-1. The story of the ball game was once again an incredible day on the mound by a trio of Sweets Cameron Scudder, Dylan Matsuoka, and Tyler Cornett who combined to strike out 14 batters.

The Sweets would take a three-run lead early as Nick Strong was able to get a two-run triple, and Joey Craig drove him in with a sac fly RBI in the 2nd inning.

Walla Walla would again take the lead and not look back as they would add two more runs in the fifth before the Lefties could find an answer.

The story of the game goes to the pitching staff who have been electric on this run for the Sweets. Today Cameron Scudder would fan five batters in three innings in a winning outing for the Sweets. Dylan Matsuoka would come in and punch out three of his own in three innings of work without allowing a hit. Finally Tyler Cornett would finish things off going three innings as well and striking out the final six batters of the ball game.

Sweet’s look for the series sweep tomorrow vs Port Angeles at 1:35.

PORT ANGELES, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets picked up their fifth straight win (2nd in WCL action), as they took down the Port Angeles Lefties 4-1. Walla Walla was led by fantastic pitching performances highlighted by starter Andrew Baughn. Baughn was able to record seven strikeouts in six shutout innings for Walla Walla.

The Sweets’ offense took a while to get going as things were scoreless going into sixth. However, in the sixth, the Sweets were able to score three runs thanks to Nick Strong who drove in Jordan Andrade with a double and was followed by an absolute no doubter by Josh Williams just one pitch later.

Walla Walla would go on to score one in the seventh to give reliever Stu Flesland a 4-0 lead to work with and in his lone inning of work he was able to strike out the side in only 13 pitches.

Hayden Hattenbach came in to work in the eighth and recorded a strike out for the Sweets and Nick Wilson was able to close things out the Sweets took the first game of the weekend and move to .500 on the year.

NEXT GAME- @Port Angeles 6:35pm

WALLA WALLA, Wash- The Walla Walla Sweets were able to pick up the series sweep and extend their win streak to now four games with an 8-1 win over the Northwest Star Nighthawks.

The Sweets took an early lead as Kai Osaka was able to get a solo homer in the first. The solo shot was Osaka’s second of the year and his second in as many games played, as he was able to drive one to the same spot today as he did in game one vs the Nighthawks.

Walla Walla would take a three run lead going into the third frame where they would put up four as they worked with the bases loaded for a majority of the inning. Joran Andrade led off the inning with a double and the Sweets never looked back. Davis Mieliwocki, Leo Rivera, Malcolm Williams, and Julian “Rafa” Alvarez were all able to get RBI’s in a big inning for the Sweets.

The Sweets would surrender only one run in the contest due in part with a great start from Anthony Fidanza as well as great work in relief from Hayden Thompson as well as Kolby Solomon. Solomon came in for Walla Walla in the eighth and recorded four strikeouts in only 2 innings of work.

Next Game- 6/17/22 vs Port Angeles