Chiefs run win streak to five after sweep of Sunnyside

MOSES LAKE — March 25 feels like a lifetime ago.

That day, Moses Lake lost twice to West Valley to start its season 0-5.

The turnaround did not take long. Moses Lake capped its third series win in a row with a doubleheader sweep of Sunnyside, 4-2 and 9-4.

“To them, it's always everything in the moment,” head coach Quintz Whitaker said. “Trying to stay in the moment in their lives on the baseball field sometimes can be a tough thing to do. They always are looking at such a big hill to climb so to see them be able to battle back, again emphasizing breaking the game down into series over the week, breaking the game down into small chunks.”

Over the past two chunks of the season, Moses Lake is (8-4, 8-6) 8-1 and has climbed to third in the Columbia Basin Big Nine.

Feisty Sunnyside kept the first game close and started the late game with a two-run first inning. However, the advantage was short-lived as Moses Lake scored three times in the home half of the frame.

Early runs set the tone for the entire game as the Chiefs were able to score at least once in all six of its trips to the plate.

Carter Stout, Brandon Swett, Cody Alvarado and Austin Valdez had RBI singles.

“Constantly having opportunities to put runs across for us is a big thing,” Whitaker said. “Especially in a high school game where we were talking about at the end of the game here tonight was being able to apply pressure over and over and over again in situations and you can't do that without getting guys on, being able to execute.”

Bad breaks in the third inning allowed Sunnyside to tie the game, 4-4. A couple high pitches by Jordan Rios grazed the glove of catcher Joshua Jesse and hit the backstop, allowing a runner to come home form third base twice.

To Rios' credit, the Grizzles never threatened again over the final four innings.

“I just tried to focus on my mechanics and make sure that I was working ahead in the count,” he said. “I was just making sure I could gain back my control in my fast ball and my defense was helping me out a lot, too.”

A lead on the mound also helps. Each time Rios trotted back out his advantage grew and so did his aggressiveness.

“It helps you to attack and be more aggressive with the hitters and with the confidence that I have with the defense and the lead, I felt like I was really able to go after the hitters today,” he said.

Moses Lake got a crack at a few quality teams early in the season. They will get to see another one this week.

Wenatchee enters Tuesday's game as the No. 2 team in the league.

“I think we're really going to give Wenatchee a run for its money,” Rios said.

Game 1

• Highlights: Cameron Duke 1 RBI, Caleb Juarez 1 RBI, Ezekyel Ochoa 1 RBI

Game 2

• Highlights: Cameron Duke 2 RBI, Austin Valdez 2 RBI, Carter Stout 2 RBI, Brandon Swett 1 RBI, Cody Alvarado 1 RBI