Sweets get hot on Saturday

The Sweets didn't need to score three in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead and defeated the Bucks 13-2.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- With 13 runs on Saturday, the Sweets have now scored 10 or more runs in seven games this season. They are 7-0 in those games.
- The Sweets scored once in the second, three times in the third, five in the fifth, three in the sixth and one in the seventh.
- J.J. Robinson had two doubles, scored twice and drove in two. He scored the first run on a safety squeeze in the second inning and made it 4-0 with a two-run double in the third. Robinson also walked twice, reaching safely four times.
- Ryan Cooper clubbed a two-run triple to highlight the five-run fifth and also scored Robinson with the safety squeeze in the second.
- Kris Paulino, Alex Bonczyk and Shane Zeile batted 1-2-3 last night and all scored two runs. Paulino had two hits and two runs scored, Bonczyk had three hits and scored twice and Zeile had two hits, two RBI and two runs scored.
- Garrett Tygerson got the start for the Sweets and worked six innings. It was his first start of the summer and the right-hander allowed just two runs on eight hits to earn the victory.
- Tyler Billen tossed two scoreless innings of relief and Ben Ruff closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.
- Tempers flared in the ninth after Ruff hit Nick Wagner in the front shoulder with a fastball.
- Zeile played first base for the first time this summer last night.
- Game time temperature last night was 95 degrees. It is expected to be above 100 degrees at first pitch this evening.
- Zach Brandon will get the start for the Sweets. It will be his second non-league start of the summer. He allowed one run on two hits over five innings against the Lobos on June 17.
- Spencer O'Neil and Brett Jacobs have each missed the first two games of this series.
- The Sweets will have an off day on Monday before beginning a six-game road trip in Cowlitz on Tuesday. The Sweets will play three against the Black Bears and then head south to Klamath Falls for a three-game series.

Wild finish favors Sweets

Walla Walla had to rally from two runs down twice in the final two innings, finally earning a walk-off victory on a wild pitch, 8-7. The victory improved the Sweets to 3-1 in non-league games.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to overcome a 3-1 deficit but gave up four runs in the top of the ninth. They scored all three runs in the ninth with two outs.
- In the eighth, Kris Paulino made it 3-2 with an RBI triple and Alex Bonczyk tied the game with a bloop single. Shane Zeile broke the 3-3 tie with a two-run home run to left.
- In the ninth, Paulino brought the Sweets within one with a double to left and scored the tying run on a throwing error. With J.J. Robinson at the plate and the bases loaded, the first pitch went to the backstop and Bonczyk scored from third ahead of the throw.
- Zeile's home run was his second in as many games and his third of summer. All three of his home runs have come with two strikes in the count.
- Paulino finished with three hits and three RBI. All three of his hits were for extra bases, with two doubles and a triple.
- Bonczyk finished with two hits and also scored two runs.
- Doug Ashby earned the win with three innings of relief. He faced the minimum over the first two innings but was touched for four runs in the ninth. It was his first win of the summer.
- DJ Smith started for the Sweets, allowing three runs over six innings. He gave up all three runs in the third inning. He struck out five.
- The Sweets improved to 10-7 at Borleske Stadium this summer and 3-1 against non-league opponents.
- Garrett Tygerson will start tonight for the Sweets. It is his first start of the summer. He made one start last summer for Wenatchee.

Sweets drop finale to Wenatchee

Walla Walla battled back to tie the game in the sixth inning but Cabe Reiten hit a three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning to send Wenatchee past the Sweets on Thursday. The two teams split the four-game series.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets were victimized by an eighth-inning home run for the third time this summer. Austin Barr's grand slam on opening night sent the Sweets to a 6-4 defeat. Steven Halcomb's solo home run in the eighth inning on June 10 broke a 3-3 tie and sent Bend to a 4-3 victory.
- Shane Zeile hit his second home run of the series in the sixth inning on Thursday. It went over Borleske Blue in left field to tie the game.
- Marc Garza picked up three hits for the Sweets on Thursday. It was his first three-hit game of the season.
- Kalani Brackenridge and Alex Bonczyk each extended their hitting streaks to six games.
- Matt Imhof struck out four in two innings and allowed just one hit, the three-run home run.
- Simon Anderson tossed a scoreless ninth, leaving the bases loaded with a 6-4-3 double play.
- The Sweets will now open a three-game non-league series with the Central Oregon Bucks. The Bucks are made up of players that can also play for the Bend Elks.

Sweets continue to score

The Sweets put up double-digit runs for the second consecutive game on Wednesday, defeating Wenatchee, 13-3. Walla Walla has now won each of the last two games with the Applesox and has a chance to win the four-game series tonight.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- In the last two games, the Sweets have scored 25 runs on 31 hits. They had 13 runs on 14 hits last night.
- Last season, the Sweets scored 19 runs in nine regular season games against the Applesox.
- Alex Bonczyk and Nick Vilter each had three hits for the Sweets on the Wednesday. Bonczyk also scored three runs, drove in two and stole three bases.
- Bonczyk now has scored 14 runs, driven in 14 and stolen a team-high nine bases.
- He has also hit safely in five-straight games and has picked up five stolen bases in those contests.
- Vilter had two doubles, a home run and drove in five in the offensive outburst. His two-run double in the first put the Sweets on the board and his RBI double in the eighth capped the scoring. He added a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his second of the summer.
- Vilter is now hitting .302 with 13 RBI on the season. In the last two games, he has six hits, three doubles, six RBI and has scored three times.
- Spencer O'Neil extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a pair of singles. He his hitting .358 with a .492 on-base percentage during the stretch and leads the league with 24 RBI. In his last 10 games, O'Neil is hitting .438 and has driven in 15 runs.
- Chance Kopacz also extended his hitting streak on Wednesday, stretching it to nine games. In those nine games, Kopacz is hitting .342.
- Surprisingly, Brett Jacobs is hitting an outstanding .404 against RHP this summer. Against lefties, he's hitting just .154.
- As a team, the Sweets are hitting .284 against RHP this summer.
- In the last two weeks the Sweets have raised their batting average with runners in scoring position up over .300 to .302. Bonczyk is hitting .419, Jacobs is hitting .500, Vilter is hitting .412 and O'Neil is hitting .368.
- In the last six games, the Sweets are hitting .311 and have posted a 2.21 ERA.
- On the season, the Sweets are hitting .271 as a team, the third-best average in the league.
- Kyle Kingsley picked up his second home win of the summer on Wednesday, allowing three runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings.
- Hunter Virant, Garrett Tygerson and Ben Ruff combined to finish out the game. Virant tossed 1.1 scoreless innings and Tygerson and Ruff pitched the eighth and ninth, respectively.
- Over the last nine games, the Sweets bullpen has allowed just two runs in 27 innings.
- Tyler Roberts will get the ball in the series finale against Wenatchee. He picked up a win in his last outing against Bend last week. Roberts was perfect over the first five innings and finished with seven innings of one-run ball.

Sweets erupt in Wenatchee

The Sweets picked up their most lopsided win over Wenatchee in franchise history on Tuesday night, defeating the Applesox 12-0. Walla Walla scored four runs in the fourth inning and eight runs in the sixth and collected 17 hits.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets will celebrate Independence Day with special Stars and Stripes caps. The hat has a white cap with blue stripes and a blue brim. The W2 logo is filled with the Stars and Stripes.
- On Tuesday, the Sweets scored their first four runs with four consecutive extra-base hits in the fourth inning. Shane Zeile, Nick Vilter and Chance Kopacz all doubled to make it 2-0 and Ryan Cooper followed with a two-run home run to right to make it 4-0.
- The Sweets then sent 11 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the sixth inning. Brett Jacobs collected a two-run single and Spencer O'Neil and Zeile hit back-to-back home runs to make it 12-0. It was the second time this summer that the Sweets have hit back-to-back dingers.
- It was the fourth of the summer for O'Neil and gave him a league-leading 23 RBI on the year.
- Zeile finished the night 4-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI. He finished a triple shy of the cycle. He singled in the second, doubled in the fourth and singled and homered in the sixth. It was his first home run of the summer. Zeile is hitting .375 with two doubles, two triples, a home run, five RBI and seven runs scored in seven games.
- Kopacz also had four hits in the ballgame. The four hits helped raise his batting average to .266 on the season. He has hit safely in each of his last four games, the third time he has done that this summer. Kopacz has also scored a run in each of his last four.
- Nick Vilter had three hits for the Sweets and also scored two runs. In 13 games, Vilter is hitting .271 with eight RBI and eight runs scored.
- Arturo Reyes was the recipient of the run support and picked up his third win of the summer with seven scoreless innings. Reyes allowed six hits, struck out four and only walked one. He has allowed one run or less in four of his five starts this summer.
- Luke West tossed the final two innings to help the Sweets to their first shutout of the season. West has registered seven consecutive scoreless innings on the season.
- It was the Sweets first shutout since July 7 of last year when they shutout Bellingham, 3-0.
- Walla Walla was hit twice on Tuesday and now lead the league with 39 hit by pitches, 12 more than the second team.
- The Sweets also continue to lead the league in triples with 11.
- The Sweets and Applesox will now conclude the second half of their split four-game series. They play tonight at 5:05 p.m. and tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.
- Kyle Kingsley will get the start tonight for the Sweets. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.82 ERA on the season. He allowed two runs on five hits over six innings in a no decision last week against Bend. Kingsley struck out two and walked two.

Sweets miss out on Monday

The Sweets had several opportunities to take their series-opener with Wenatchee on Monday night but could not complete the comeback, falling 3-2. It was the first of four meetings this week between the two teams.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets struck out 15 times on Monday, the most this season. They struck out eight times with runners in scoring position.
- Walla Walla struck out three consecutive times after Kalani Brackenridge led off the third with a double.
- The Sweets then loaded the bases with no out in the seventh and only scored one run. Drew Jacobs struck out back-to-back batters before Alex Bonczyk made it 3-2 with an infield single.
- Shane Zeile led off the eighth with a triple to center field but Jacobs struck out the next three to strand him.
- On the season, the Sweets are hitting .274 with runners in scoring position and just .193 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
- Zach Brandon started and lasted four innings. He threw one bad pitch and it resulted in a three-run home run in the third with two outs. He struck out four and walked one in the outing.
- Joe Arlt appeared out of the bullpen for the second-straight game and tossed four scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and four baserunners in total. In his last seven outings, Arlt has allowed just two runs on 12 hits. He has struck out 14 over his last 17 innings.
- Zeile's triple gives the Sweets four players that have two three-baggers on the season.
- Spencer O'Neil extended his on-base streak to 14 games with a pinch-hit single in the seventh. The hit drove in his 20th run of the season and was his first hit against a left-hander.

Sweets fall at home, head to Wenatchee

The Sweets dropped the final game of their five-game homestand to Bellingham, 5-1, on Saturday night at Borleske Stadium. Walla Walla went 3-2 on its homestand and begins a four-game series with Wenatchee tonight.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Saturday but the Bells scored the final five runs.
- J.J. Robinson's double in the second in the put the Sweets on top but the Bells scored four runs in the fifth to take the lead.
- It was Robinson's fourth double of the season and his third RBI of the year.
- Ryan Cooper extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the seventh inning. He has a hit in every game he has played this summer.
- Spencer O'Neil was hit and walked on Saturday and has now reached base safely in 13-straight games.
- Joe Arlt had another strong outing on Saturday, allowing just one run over three innings of relief.
- Following Robinson's double in the second, the Sweets did not record a hit until the seventh inning.
- Walla Walla begins a split four-game series with the Applesox tonight. It is a rematch of last year's East Division Championship.
- The two teams will play tonight and tomorrow in Wenatchee before playing games three and four in Walla Walla on July 4 and 5.
- Walla Walla and Wenatchee will do the same thing at the end of July but in the reverse order.
- Last season, the Sweets went 3-6 against the Applesox. They then swept Wenatchee in the East Division Championship round.
- Zach Brandon will start on the mound for the Sweets tonight. He is 0-2 with a 6.28 ERA in four appearances (three starts). He has struck out 14 and walked just four in 14.1 innings. He has struck out three in each of his last three outings.