Ephrata falls in doubleheader against Aberdeen
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
Caleb Froewiss (7) pitched the fifth and sixth innings of the second game, striking out two and giving up no runs.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Landen Stephens (1) pitched and hit well in the first game, striking out two and smashing a double in the bottom of the fourth.
The Tigers hit well in the second game with multiple players including Cale Fronsman (15) hitting sharp singles.
EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers fell to Aberdeen 0-10 and 1-4 in a home doubleheader Saturday. Ephrata head baseball coach David Tempel said some good things happened on the diamond, despite the loss.
“I think in the first game the big takeaway is even though we got down early we never gave up,” said Tempel.
Coach David Tempel said there were some bright spots in their first game. Defensively the Tigers had good positioning and were able to pitch and hit well, but Aberdeen was able to get ahead every time, he said.
Landen Stephens started on the mound for the Tigers, pitching 3.2 innings and striking out two. Ryker Linehan came on for 2.1 innings of relief, giving up no earned runs and striking out one.
Stephens also smashed a double in the bottom of the fourth and Cooper Vasquez added an infield single for the Tigers.
In the second game, Vasquez started on the mound for the Tigers, surrendering three earned runs over three innings while scattering four hits and striking out one. Caleb Froewiss then pitched two innings, striking out two and giving up no runs. Clayton Wolther finished up the game striking out one and giving up no runs.
At the plate, Wolther, Mitchell Johnson, Andrew Rowlands and Cale Fronsman hit sharp singles and Colin McDonell put up a double in the sixth inning.
“We outhit Aberdeen in that last game 5-4 and we squared some balls up so the bats are starting to come alive,” said Tempel. “I think the biggest thing is sticking with our approaches and getting good pitches to swing at.”
Tempel said he was proud of the team’s ability to have a lopsided game one and be able to bounce back and have a much cleaner game two.
“They were able to respond,” he said. “They showed a little bit of resilience which I thought was a huge step forward for us especially when it doesn’t go our way in the first game.”
The Tigers look to work on refining their approach to the plate making sure hitters stay aggressive at the plate even when they have two strikes. They also want to continue to keep throwing strikes and have the pitchers keep working on that confidence to throw any pitch in any count regardless of the batter, said the coach.
The Tigers' next opponent will be Selah, one of the leaders in the Central Washington Athletic Conference.
“It’s going to take an all-around team effort from pitching, defense, offense,” said Tempel. “They’ll be well coached and they’ll be ready to play and so will we.”
The Ephrata Tigers will play the Selah Vikings at home tonight at 5:30 p.m.
Ephrata Tigers Varsity Roster
Name, Jersey, Grade
Landen Stevens, 1, 11
Cooper Vasquez, 2, 9
Andrew Rowlands, 4, 10
Clayton Wolther, 5, 10
Tyson Thompson, 6, 12
Caleb Froewiss, 7, 10
Owen Coen, 8, 12
Tavone Mantese, 9, 11
Ryker Linehan, 10, 12
Ryder Mann, 11, 12
Mayson Stredwick, 12, 9
Kai Kaleohano, 13, 9
Elijah Davis, 14, 11
Cale Fronsman, 15, 9
Colin McDonnell, 16, 12
Mitchell Johnson, 17, 9
Casten Iverson, 18, 9
Landen Stephens (1) pitched and hit well in the first game, striking out two and smashing a double in the bottom of the fourth.
The Tigers hit well in the second game with multiple players including Cale Fronsman (15) hitting sharp singles.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.