They certainly are Sweet on the diamond.
But just call them the Walla Walla Sweeps.
The crisply-executing West Coast League team from southeastern Washington state (19-11) came to Royal Athletic Park and swept the Victoria HarbouCats, with the third Sweets victory in the set coming by a 16-5 count Wednesday night. Walla Walla outscored Victoria 33-8 in the series.
Former Montreal Expos manager Gene Mauch once observed that a losing stretch early in the season is labeled a bad start. In the middle of the season it鈥檚 a slump and at the end of the season a choke.
By the Mauch standard, the HarbourCats (13-13) are in a slump, having lost nine of their last 12 games with the mid-point of the WCL season approaching Saturday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bad patch. That simple,鈥� said Victoria manager Dennis Rogers.
But then as former baseball team owner Bill Veeck once said: 鈥淭he most beautiful thing in the world is a ballpark filled with people.鈥�
At least in that regard, the HarbourCats are winners. The league leaders in attendance (averaging more than 1,450 fans per game) drew 1,574 fans for Wednesday鈥檚 game.
On the diamond, things weren鈥檛 as pretty for a Victoria team that is ranked last in league fielding and committed five more errors last night.
The mound is another glaring problem area.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 pitched very well,鈥� said Rogers, in a grand understatement.
Victoria starter Tanner Kiest (0-2), selected in the 27th round of this year鈥檚 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, gave up a grand slam to Chris Paulino in a 5-0 Walla Walla first inning.
The HarbourCats could be excused for feeling like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. Early holes are nothing new for a Victoria team that has now allowed opening-inning runs 14th times in 26 games this season.
Kiest did not live to see the second inning and was replaced by Joe Navilhon, the second of seven Victoria pitchers on the night.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been facing some pretty good clubs like Wenatchee and Walla Walla who have pitchers who command the zone,鈥� said Rogers.
The HarbourCats loaded the bases with none out in the fifth inning but only came away with one run to show for it.
To underscore what a strange game baseball can be, the HarbourCats were bombed out of their own park Wednesday despite out-hitting the Sweets 14-8.
Victoria highlights included a two-run shot by David Schuknecht, his third homer of the season. Chris Lewis recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the season and while extending his Royal Athletic Park hitting streak to 10 games.
The HarbourCats begin a six-game road trip a long way down I-5 on Saturday night against the Gems in Klamath Falls, Ore.
FOUL BALLS: While the Victoria fielding woes are well known, the Sweets are the top-ranked fielding team in the WCL. There was a rare sun-aided double recorded on the score sheet for Walla Walla in last night鈥檚 game. That could only happen to the HarbourCats.
