WALLA WALLA - What a year it's been for the Moses Lake Chiefs baseball team.

Now it only promises to get better.

After a tumultuous beginning to a season, the Chiefs have finally found their rhythm at the best time possible.

Yesterday, the Chiefs travelled to Walla Walla High School for a Big 9 District Loser Out playoff game against Chiawana with the hopes that with a win they would play the host Blue Devils later in the day.

Mission accomplished.

Moses Lake blew past Chiawana 12-5 and set themselves up with a showdown with the Big 9's top team and it's best pitcher.

Little did the Blue Devils know, the Chiefs had them right where they wanted them.

Backed by a stellar pitching performance by Nick Laszlo and a big sixth inning the Chiefs rallied to beat Walla Walla 3-2 and advance to Saturday's District Championship game at Walla Walla High School starting at 10 a.m. The game will determine the No. 1 and 2 seeds out of the Big 9 for the Regional Tournament,

They will play the Richland Bombers who beat 7-0 behind a no-hit effort by their pitching staff.

"This is a great win for the program," Moses Lake interim head coach Quintz Whitaker said. "We had an opportunity to go down there and now we have an opportunity to play next week. These guys want to go deep into the season and to know we are going to keep playing is a big deal."

The Chiefs (9-13) have battled back from a slow start that soon followed the sudden passing of their head coach Ed McNamara in March.

Against Walla Walla, Laszlo stepped up big to go the full seven innings where he struck out six and scattered a mere five hits to keep the Blue Devils bats in check.

"He was dominant as he got better as he went," Whitaker said. "He struck out five of the last six guys we faced so it was big. We needed guys to step up into rolls they are not accustomed to and we was one of them. With him to come out and pitch like he did was huge."

Trailing 2-0 going into the top of the sixth inning, the Chiefs broke loose with the deciding three runs.

Bryton Redal got on base to lead off the inning following a Walla Walla error and Tony Hernandez doubled to put both young men in scoring position.

Cameron Alvarado walked to load the bases and then one out later came Matt Noyola's epic 10-pitch at-bat.

Eventually, Noyola would hit a deep fly ball that would bring Redal in and cut the gap to 2-1.

"That was huge," Whitaker said. "We're facing the number one pitcher in the league, the player of the year, 8-0 on the year, and he kept battling and battling. It gave us a lot of confidence. I think it made all of us believe we could get something done."

Then on a 1-2 pitch to Kody Samuels, the Blue Devils' catcher allowed a passed ball and Hernandez sprinted home to tie the game and was soon followed by Alvarado after Walla Walla bumbled the chance to get the first runner and the Chiefs led 3-2.

From there Laszlo battened down the hatches and the Chiefs would be on to another week of play. Laszlo was aided by a defense that was error-free.

"Our defense was phenomenal," Whitaker said. "Our guys played smart and were laying it all out for the baseball."

To set up the game, Moses Lake drilled Chiawana thanks in part to a six-run fourth inning.

Colby Swartz pitched a complete game for the Chiefs in the win. He struck out six batters while giving up six hits.

Redal went 3-for-4 with two RBI, Devin Juarez went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Samuels went 2-for-3 with three RBI.

"It was a loser out game and to get that win calms the nerves," Whitaker said. "No one expected that so now it was about going out and surprising people. It didn't matter what other people think. We knew we were going to see another day either way really helped us relax."

Kittitas 18

WARDEN 3

KITTITAS - Warden is now in a double must win situation heading into Saturday's doubleheader with Kittitas.

That's because the Cougars dropped a disappointing 18-3 decision at Kittitas last night.

A sweep of Saturday's action would give the Cougars (17-4, 8-2) the Central Washington South 2B crown. A split would give the trophy to their guests.

"Mentally we just didn't show up to play," Warden head coach Dan Caballero said. "Hopefully we can bounce back on Saturday."

Kiona Benton 4-3

ROYAL 2-2

ROYAL CITY - Despite two losses last night to Kiona-Benton, the Royal Knights will still be district playoff bound.

The Knights lost 4-2 and 3-2 but will still be in fourth place of the South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) East division and will participate in the post season.

Throughout both games, Royal (4-6 in league play) could only muster a total of eight hits.

In game one, Brady Dixon pitched and held Ki-Be to three hits but a late rally gave the guests the cushion they needed.

"Brady Dixon started for us and did a great job on the mound," Royal head coach Daren Christensen said. "He kept battling and kept us in the game."

Game two saw Knight Danny Vermeer match Dixon's showing, giving up five hits, but the hitting couldn't break through.

Now the Knights will face the SCAC West's top seed next Tuesday to begin their playoff run.