SELAH – After pulling off a three-run comeback to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning of Tuesday’s Central Washington Athletic Conference consolation bracket final, the Ephrata Tigers were unable to retake a lead over East Valley (Yakima) and fell 6-5 to the Red Devils.

Sophomores KK Hector and Jaemyson Durfee both hit home runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at five, but an East Valley run scored in the top of the eighth inning allowed the Red Devils to move on to the 2A District 5/6/8 Crossover.

“That was our word for this week, resilience,” Ephrata Head Coach Heather Wood said. “It was awesome – we could have been down and out, and been done, but the girls never gave up. They fought every pitch, every play.”

Down 5-2 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, a weather delay was called due to lightning spotted to the east of Carlon Park in Selah, which triggered a 71-minute delay in the game. Wood said the Tigers used the break in the action to refocus.

“We just talked about what we needed to do, what we needed to change,” Wood said. “We needed our intensity to go up, and it did. We came back ready to play.”

After holding the Red Devils scoreless in the top of the seventh, Hector opened up the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit to 5-3.

“I wasn’t hitting well, in the beginning of the game I was in a slump, so in my head I was like ‘I really need something for the team,’” Hector said. “When I saw that pitch, I was like ‘I just got to drive this.’ I was so happy, I feel like that really carried into that inning.”

Two at-bats later, sophomore Olivia Bicondova reached first base on an error by the Red Devils. Another two at-bats later – with the game on the line, a full count and two outs on the scoreboard – Durfee’s two-run blast to center field tied the game at five.

“Honestly, I was crying (before the pitch) because I was really sad,” Durfee said. “But, I was just thinking – because I heard my travel ball coach in the back, telling me to get something – I was thinking ‘I’ve got to swing.’ It’s a 3-2 count, so obviously (the pitcher’s) going to throw me a strike.”

“It was awesome,” Wood said. “And (Hector’s) hit, it put us back where we should have been. It was a good inning.”

An RBI off a groundout pushed the East Valley lead to 6-5 in the top of the eighth inning, but the Tigers were unable to add any more runs to the scoreboard and fell to the Red Devils.

The loss ended the season for Ephrata, who concluded 2023 with a 16-6 record.

“I hope that we take all these hard moments – this hard loss – and I hope we use it for next year,” Durfee said.

Nine of Ephrata’s 16 players on the varsity roster were underclassmen this year, setting up a strong returning core for 2024.

“I just hope they come back thirsty and ready to play,” Wood said.

Ephrata has four seniors graduating off this year’s roster; Jackie Turner, Alexis Park, Emily Williams and Marlena Rodriguez.

“They’re going to be missed, they meant a lot,” Wood said.

East Valley scored first in the top of the first inning, which was answered in the bottom of the same inning on an RBI single by junior Peyton Trautman to tie the game. A two-run home run by the Red Devils made it a 3-1 game, and Trautman once again cut into the lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. East Valley took its 5-2 lead on another two-run home run in the top of the fifth.

Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

EVY: 1-0-2-0-2-0-0-1 6

EPH: 1-0-0-1-0-0-3-0 5