EPHRATA — The Tigers split Friday’s doubleheader against East Valley (Yakima) first falling 2-1 before responding with an 8-4 win over the Red Devils.

“Our guys don’t stop fighting,” Ephrata coach David Tempel said. “Every pitch, they’re in it. We did some great things with our short game today, played some small ball when we had to. The guys never quit fighting, and that’s what they’re known for.”

In the nightcap, Ephrata routinely capitalized off of East Valley errors; seven of Ephrata’s eight runs in the game came off of errors, the bulk of which were passed balls to first base.

“When a team gives you something, whatever it is in this game, you have to be able to capitalize,” Tempel said. “With this veteran group, they run the bases well, they pick good pitches to swing at and they do what’s asked of them. That’s really helpful.”

East Valley cut the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs after trailing 5-1 to start the inning. Looking to add some insurance, 

“They’re still trailing us, but what can we do to add on and extend that lead?” Tempel said of the team’s discussion before heading out for the bottom of the sixth. “Talked to the guys a little about if someone gets on, we’re going to bunt them over and do some of those little things. The guys executed it great.”

Sophomore Brady Hendrick opened the bottom of the sixth with a double on a fly ball to deep left field, then scored on the next at-bat on a Red Devil error. Senior Hayden Wurl scored on yet another East Valley error, and senior Hans Roberts scored the game’s final run on a wild pitch.

“I had two strikes already, so I was thinking ‘Short and quick, just make contact. Don't strike out,’” Hendrick said. “At first I was like, ‘Oh, that might be gone,’ but it felt good. It got the juice going with everybody and got the energy up.”

Ephrata lost the first game of Friday’s doubleheader 2-1. Senior Cody Black tied the game on an RBI triple in the bottom of the second inning, but the Red Devils took the lead for good on a Tiger error in the top of the fourth inning.

“Both pitchers were on their game,” Tempel said. “(Grady Edler) for East Valley threw a great game against us, he pitched us very effectively and pitched us backwards in some different counts. It came down to one or two plays; a misplayed ball here or a big hit there, and in this league when you have two No. 1 pitchers facing off against each other, it’s going to come down to the little things.”

Moving past the loss quickly played a big role in winning the second game, Hendrick said.

“The main thing was just bouncing back; flush the first game, and come in ready,” Hendrick said. “Swing at a little bit better, just bounce back and do our job.”

With the win in the nightcap, the Tigers have already surpassed their win total from last season; Tempel credited an added year of experience for the players as a key factor.

“I think experience plays a huge role,” Tempel said. “A lot of these guys were here last year, but last year was their first year on the varsity and playing on that level. The experiences these guys have —– whether it’s in their summer ball programs, just being a year older, a year stronger, a year wiser, play huge dividends for us.”

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

Box scores

Game One

EVY: 0-1-0-1-0-0-0 2
EPH: 0-1-0-0-0-0-0 1

Game Two

EVY: 1-0-0-0-3-0-0 4
EPH: 1-1-3-0-0-3-X 8

    Ephrata senior Hayden Wurl catches a fly ball in right field.
  

    Ephrata senior Noah Ferebee pitches against East Valley (Yakima) in the nightcap of Friday’s doubleheader. Ephrata coach David Tempel has said that Ferebee and the rest of the pitchers are a strong point for Ephrata baseball this year.
  

    Ephrata senior Cody Black makes contact with an East Valley pitch.