Tigers split doubleheader at home against Toppenish
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
Sophomore Cooper Vasquez hits the ball against Toppenish Saturday. The Tigers won the first game of the doubleheader, in part due to Vasquez's efforts.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Tavone Mantese crouches low behind home plate in the first game the Tigers played against the Toppenish Wildcats Saturday. The Tigers won the first game 6-5 at home with Mantese behind the plate.
Senior Ryker Linehan stands ready at the plate just before hitting an infield single that turned the first game of a Saturday doubleheader around for the Tigers.
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers and Toppenish Wildcats each walked away with a win Friday after the Tigers took the first game 6-5, and the Wildcats secured game two 13-0, in a doubleheader in Ephrata.
In game one, the Wildcats scored three runs early to take the lead. However, this did not seem to shake Ephrata as they were led by pitcher Cooper Vasquez’s efforts in the sixth inning to begin mounting a comeback.
“(Vasquez) attacked the zone. He drew a lot of first-pitch strikes, which is what we asked for pitching staff, and he competed, so hats off to him,” coach David Tempel said.
After an infield single by Ryker Linehan, the Tigers were able to exploit the Wildcat defense and score six runs.
“I thought we had guys celebrating the success of teammates and picking each other up, which was awesome, and they hung in there. Even though we were down, we were never out of it and so we were able to show some grit in that first game,” said Tempel.
Despite the impressive comeback in the first game, the momentum could not be carried over into the afternoon’s second game.
“I think in game two, we just came out a little bit flat. They were able to score six in the first inning, our pitching wasn't terribly sharp and we spotted them some runs, which is something in this league you can never do,” said Tempel.
Toppenish regained momentum and refused to let it go, riding it to a 13-0 victory. Tempel said it came down to singular tiny events. The little details, if lost, can snowball and prove costly.
Despite that, he expressed a lot of pride for his team.
“I was very proud of their resilience in the first game, and their ability to overcome that hurdle because anytime you get later into a game it feels like the game is shortening,” he said.
The Tigers look to bounce back on the road against the East Valley Red Devils on Tuesday.
Tavone Mantese crouches low behind home plate in the first game the Tigers played against the Toppenish Wildcats Saturday. The Tigers won the first game 6-5 at home with Mantese behind the plate.
Senior Ryker Linehan stands ready at the plate just before hitting an infield single that turned the first game of a Saturday doubleheader around for the Tigers.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
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