Sweets swept, return home

The Sweets jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Sunday night but saw it disappear in a 6-5, 13-inning, loss to Klamath Falls. Walla Walla was swept for the third time this season and finished its road trip 2-4.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets were swept for the the third time this season, all on the road. They finished their road trip with a 2-4 record and will now open an eight-game homestand.
- In fact, 16 of their final 20 games are at Borleske Stadium.
- The Sweets open their homestand against Cowlitz. Walla Walla took two-of-three from the Black Bears last week in Longview, Wash.
- Kalani Brackenridge extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the 13th inning on Sunday. He is hitting .308 over that stretch.
- Jarrod Turner had two more hits on Sunday and has now hit safely in six of his last seven games.
- Nick Vilter started the Sweets scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. It was his third of the season.
- It was also the first run the Sweets had scored since the sixth inning on Thursday.
- Last week, the Sweets hit .192 against the Black Bears. Pitching-wise, the Sweets allowed just eight runs on 18 hits in the three games.
- The Sweets have lost their last four games and are just 4-6 in their last 10.
- With 20 games remaining, the Sweets find themselves 10 games behind Wenatchee for first place and seven games behind Bellingham for the second and final playoff spot. The Sweets trailed the Bells by five games with 21 to play last summer.
- Of the final 20 games, the Sweets face the Applesox four more times, the Bells six more times and Kelowna four times.

Sweets shutout again

For the second night in a row, the Sweets were shutout by the Gems. Four Klamath Falls pitchers combined on the shutout.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets have lost their last three games and are now 14-19 on the year. The Sweets fell to 7-13 on the road this season.
- Walla Walla has been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since Aug. 2-3, 2010. They were blanked by the Corvallis and Cowlitz in consecutive games at the beginning of August.
- The Sweets haven't scored since the sixth inning of Thursday's game against Cowlitz.
- Tyler Roberts started for the Sweets on Saturday and allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings. It matched his longest outing of the season. Of the seven hits, just three reached the outfield.
- The Sweets turned three double plays in the ballgame. Shane Zeile had a hand in two of the three.
- Kalani Brackenridge extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a single in the eighth inning. Brackenridge has raised his average from .197 to .245 during the stretch.
- Luke West pitched a scoreless eighth on Saturday. The right-hander hasn't allowed a run in his last six outings. He's given up runs in just two of his 11 outings on the summer.
- Brett Jacobs collected his team-leading eighth double of the season. He added a single in the ninth as well. He's hitting a team-high .333 on the year.
- Walla Walla struck out 10 more times on Saturday and have struck out 22 times in the first two games of the series.
- The Sweets and Gems are now an even 4-4 in the all-time series.
- Joe Arlt will start the series finale on Sunday for the Sweets. The left-hander hasn't started since June 2 against Corvallis. He allowed five runs on four hits in three innings in a 12-3 loss. Since, Arlt has allowed just two runs over his last nine appearances, spanning 21.1 innings. He hasn't allowed a run in his last 8.1 innings of relief.
- On the season, Arlt is 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA. He has struck out 19 and walked nine in 24.1 innings.

Gems pitching takes game one

Klamath Falls' pitching staff allowed just four hits and struck out 12 Sweets batters in a 4-0 victory on Friday night at Kiger Stadium. It was the first of three games between the two teams this weekend.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- It is the fourth time this summer that the Sweets have been shutout. They have posted just one shutout of their own.
- Of the Sweets' four hits, none were in the same inning.
- Jarrod Turner had two of the four hits.
- Kalani Brackenridge extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double in the fifth inning.
- Nick Vilter picked up his sixth double of the summer in the sixth inning.
- The Sweets left nine runners on base over the course of the game and six in total between the third and seventh innings.
- Kyle Kingsley lasted just two innings on Friday, leaving with a lower body injury before the start of the third inning.
- Zach Brandon came on to throw four innings, allowing two runs on five hits. It was one of his strongest outings of the summer.
- Garrett Tygerson allowed one run on five hits over two innings. Tygerson played many games at Kiger Stadium during his youth days.
- The Sweets did not commit an error on the game and have posted a .966 fielding percentage this summer. That is tied with Kelowna for third in the league.
- The Gems made three errors in the game and have a league-worst .946 fielding percentage.
- Brett Jacobs, Ryan Cooper and Kris Paulino have combined to hit just .118 (8-for-68) in the month of July. Cooper's only hit in the month is a home run against Wenatchee.
- Tyler Roberts will get the start on Saturday night. Roberts is 1-2 with a 3.29 ERA in five starts this summer. In his last start, Roberts allowed two runs on five hits over 4.2 innings. He has walked 12 and struck out 12 on the season.
- With 12 strikeouts last night, the Sweets have struck out a league-high 235 times this summer.
- In four games this week, the Sweets are hitting just .174 and have struck out 34 times.

Sweets drop finale in Cowlitz

The Sweets couldn't pick up the series sweep of the Black Bears on Thursday, falling 5-3. The Sweets did win the series, 2-1.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets were unable to sweep Cowlitz for the first time in team history.
- Cowlitz scored all five of its runs with two outs and nobody on base.
- The Sweets trailed 3-0 until the sixth inning when Shane Zeile hit a three-run home run to tie the game. It was Zeile's third home run in the past week and a half.
- Of his four total home runs, three have either given the Sweets the lead or tied the ballgame.
- Matt Imhof suffered his third loss of the summer on Thursday, allowing five runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings.
- DJ Smith was strong in relief, tossing 1.2 scoreless innings. Smith hasn't allowed a run in each of his last three appearances, spanning four innings.
- The Sweets now begin a three-game series in Klamath Falls. The Sweets went 4-2 against the Gems last year. This is the first meeting this season.
- Kyle Kingsley will start for the Sweets tonight. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 5.60 ERA on the season. He allowed three runs on seven hits over 5.2 innings in his last start, a victory over Wenatchee.

Sweets take big win on Wednesday

The Sweets received a two-run home run from Spencer O'Neil in the top off the 11th as they defeated the Black Bears, 3-1, on Wednesday. Cowlitz put the winning run on third base in both the eighth and 10th innings but the Sweets were able to work out of trouble.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:

- Since starting the season 4-12, the Seasons have gone 10-4 over their last 14 games. The Sweets moved within six games of Bellingham for the second and final playoff spot in the East Division.

- Through this point last season, the Sweets were 12-18.

- Spencer O'Neil's home run snapped a 1-1 tie in the 11th inning. It was his fifth home run of the season and tied him for the league-lead in RBI with 26.

- It was O'Neil's first hit against his former team. He was scratched from the starting lineup prior to the game but came on as a pinch-hitter in the ninth.

- Shane Zeile had a hit on Wednesday and has hit safely in each of his last six games. He is hitting a team-high .341 in 11 games with the Sweets.

- Kris Paulino and Brett Jacobs each had two hits in the game last night. The hits were the first in the month of July for Paulino.

- Arturo Reyes made his sixth start of the summer and allowed one run or less for the fifth time. He allowed a run on three hits over six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.18.

- Joe Arlt was dominant again in relief, tossing three scoreless innings. Arlt hasn't allowed a run in his last 8.1 innings of relief and just two runs over his last 21.1 innings. He has struck out 17 and walked only 7 while allowing 16 hits.

- Ben Ruff picked up his first win of the summer on Wednesday, tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. He entered with runners on the corners and one out in the tenth and issued an intentional walk to load the bases. He then induced a pop up to short for the second out and got a strikeout to end the inning.

- Cowlitz then put the tying runs on the corners with no outs in the 11th but Ruff got a strikeout, pop out and a fielder's choice to end the game.

- In his last four appearances, Ruff hasn't allowed a run in 4.2 innings. He has allowed just two hits, walked only one and struck out seven.

- The Sweets made two errors last night but are still in the top half of the league in fielding percentage. The Sweets are fourth with a fielding percentage of .964. 

- Walla Walla has also turned a league-low 19 double plays this summer. They have turned four double plays over the last two games. Two came at crucial times on Wednesday as Nick Vilter started an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play in the eighth with runners on the corners and just one out.

- Matt Imhof will get the ball in the series finale on Thursday. Imhof is 0-2 with a 5.27 ERA. He has not started a game since June 30 against Bellingham. He allowed three runs on just one hit in two innings of relief against Wenatchee last week. 

Sweets start trip on right foot

Behind eight dominant innings from Hunter Virant, the Sweets opened their six-game road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Black Bears on Tuesday night. The two teams will continue their three-game series tonight.

Now some notes from around the ballpark:
- The Sweets improved to 6-10 on the road this season and their road record currently ranks fifth in the league.
- The Sweets also improved to 3-4 in one-run games this year.
- Hunter Virant made his third start of the summer on Tuesday and put together his best outing of the year. He allowed two runs on two hits over eighth innings. He walked three and struck out five.
- The left-hander faced the minimum over the first seven innings, issuing just a single and a walk. He picked both of those runners off. He retired 14-straight from the third through the seventh inning. The Black Bears hit a home run in the eighth to make it 3-2 but Virant got a line drove double play to end the threat.
- He picked up his second win of the summer in the process and has allowed just eight hits in 20 innings on the mound. Teams are hitting just .129 against the lefty.
- Ben Ruff pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save of the summer. The right-hander has been good of late, allowing just one hit over his last three innings. He has struck out five and hasn't issued a walk in that span either.
- The Sweets finally got on the board in the sixth inning, breaking a scoreless tie with a single run. Brett Jacobs lofted a sac fly to left with the bases loaded to score Kalani Brackenridge with the first run.
- Walla Walla scored two more runs in the seventh. An infield error scored the first run and Alex Bonczyk's fielder's choice ground ball made it 3-0.
- Shane Zeile was the only player on either team to record multiple hits, picking up two of the four Sweets knocks. He hit his fourth double of the season and of his 13 hits, eight have been for extra bases.
- Bonczyk picked up his 15th RBI of the season and also stole his team-leading 10th base.
- The Sweets were hit three times on Tuesday and now lead the league with 45.
- Arturo Reyes will start on Wednesday for the Sweets. The right-hander has gone 3-1 with a 2.29 ERA over his first five starts. He has allowed one run or less in four of his five starts and has allowed just one run over his last 16 innings. Reyes has struck out 11 and walked only three in those two starts.
- Beau Fraser will make his debut with the Sweets tonight. He will catch and bat seventh in the lineup.
- Spencer O'Neil pinch-hit on Tuesday and struck out. It ended his 16 game streak of reaching base safely. It was his first appearance in Cowlitz since spending last summer with the Black Bears. He received a nice round of applause from the fans in attendance.

Sweets begin six-game roady

After dropping a 7-3 decision to the Bucks on Sunday and enjoying an off day on Monday, the Sweets begin a six-game road trip against Cowlitz on Tuesday. It is the first of three with the Black Bears this week.

Now for some notes from around the ballpark:
- Tuesday's series opener will be the first game of the year between the Sweets and the Black Bears. The two teams met in the first week of the season last year.
- Last season, the two teams met nine times, with the Black Bears earning the series victory, 5-4. The Black Bears won the first two series of the season before the Sweets took 2-of-3 on their final road trip of the season.
- Tuesday also begins a stretch of 12-straight games against the same two teams. After facing the Black Bears, the Sweets head to Klamath Falls for three. The Sweets then host the same two teams next week before the All-Star break.
- On the season, the Sweets are 5-10 on the road. They lost nine of their first 10 but have rebounded to win four of their last five.
- Spencer O'Neil will be making his return to Cowlitz for the first time since playing for the Black Bears last season. He was an All-Star and won All-Star game MVP honors with Cowlitz.
- O'Neil will also be looking to extend his on-base streak to 17 games. He reached base in every league game since June 14 in Corvallis.
- Leading or trailing after the fifth inning has been a big determining factor for the Sweets this season. When leading after five, the Sweets are 9-2, but are just 1-13 when trailing after five.
- The Sweets will face two left-handers in their series with Cowlitz. On the year, the Sweets are hitting just .234 against lefties as opposed to .282 against righties.
- Surprisingly, Ryan Cooper (a left-hander) is hitting a team-best .417 against southpaws. Marc Garza is hitting .381 in 21 at-bats against lefties.
- Both teams enter the series with 12-16 records. The Sweets are eight games out of first place, however, while the Black Bears are just five back.
- Hunter Virant will start for the Sweets on Tuesday, his third of the summer. He is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in three appearances. He has struck out 12 in 13 innings and has allowed just six hits.
- The Sweets will have a new face in the dugout on Tuesday as the signing of Beau Fraser was officially announced. Fraser started the season as a 10-day contract player for Corvallis. He is going to be a senior at Portland this season and will help the Sweets behind the plate and at the plate.