EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers (6-9) split a doubleheader against the Prosser Mustangs, winning game one 8-3 and suffering a hard-fought loss 18-9. Head Coach Lesa Trevino said she was happy with how hard her team battled Saturday.

“Our first game, our defense was solid. It was really cool to see them implement everything that we had worked on this last week,” she said.

Heading into this doubleheader, Trevino emphasized the importance of starting fast, which the Tigers did when they jumped out to a 5-1 lead after three innings. The Mustangs battled back, even hitting two home runs, but it was not enough to slow Ephrata from sealing the win in game one. Game two carried over the same competitive spirit of both teams from the first. This time the Mustangs jumped ahead and put the Tigers on their heels. They only trailed 11-9 after five innings, but Prosser outscored EPH 7-0 in the final two innings to secure the win.

“They competed all day. They did find a way to split, which says a lot about this group. Even when things weren’t perfect, they just kept battling and stayed in it,” Trevino said.

Game one

Ella Piturachsatit got Ephrata on the scoreboard first with a run at the bottom of the first inning. From there, Hannah Hull, Dakota Durfee, Bayleigh French and Piturachsatit built on their lead to make it 5-1 after three innings of play.

In the top of the fourth inning, Mallory Barnhart hit a home run to help the Mustangs cut the deficit to 5-3. This was the second homer of the day by Prosser, the first coming from Lina Lefebvre. Despite two big plays by Prosser, the Tigers did not let it shake them, Trevino said.

“Whoever’s pitching when they’re on the mound, they have great composure,” she said. “At the beginning of the year, I told (pitchers Sidney Chornuk, Haley Trusty, French, and Riley Trusty) specifically that, ‘Hey, you’re going to get home runs hit off of you. You have to shake it off, and you just have to let it go.’ There are great hitters in this league ... That is their job, to hit the ball hard, and our job is to over the plate and let our defense do the work.”

From the bottom of the fourth through the sixth, the Tigers added a run in each while holding the Mustangs scoreless to seal the game one victory. Taking the lead at the pitching mound was Haley, who pitched all seven innings. She allowed six hits to three runs while striking out five batters.

Game two

The Tigers got on the scoreboard first after Camila Martinez stole home base. However, the Mustangs erupted with five runs in each of the second and third innings. Despite that, the Tigers continued to battle. After scoring eight runs through the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tigers trailed 11-9.

Prosser dug their heels in, scoring three runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to put themselves ahead 18-9. Despite the Tigers’ best efforts, a comeback could not be completed, and the Mustangs were victorious in game two.

Result aside, the Tigers put their growth this season on display across both games, Trevino said. Getting hits and getting on base was a highlight for her and the team.

“That’s definitely developed. We emphasized a lot of hitting over the last few weeks and worked on two-strike approaches and making sure that we’re contacting the ball and going through it. That’s something that we’ve really put work into. The girls have done a phenomenal job taking that in and utilizing all of the tools that we’ve given them,” Trevino said.

The Tigers return home Tuesday to host the Othello Huskies (6-5) at 6 p.m. As they enter the final stretch of the regular season, Trevino and the Tigers are focused on approaching each game with intensity.

“We have to come in with intensity and know that Othello is going to bring that same intensity as well,” she said. “It all comes down to if we choose to perform. They are a young group. They’re just continuing to improve every game, which is what you can ask for as a coach, but you can see us starting to understand situations better, and now it’s just about putting it together consistently.”

BOX SCORE:

Game one

PRSR: 0-1-0-2-0-0-0: 3

EPHT: 1-1-3-1-1-1-*: 8

Game two

PRSR: 0-5-5-1-0-3-4: 18

EPHT: 1-3-2-2-1-0-0: 9

    The Tigers’ Sidney Chornuk (3) steps up to home plate to bat against Prosser Saturday.
  

    Haley Trusty (11) throws her next pitch in game one against the Prosser Mustangs Saturday.
  

    Sidney Chornuk (3) gets set on defense near third base during the Tigers game against Prosser Saturday.
  

    The Tigers’ Camila Martinez (1) fields the ball in the outfield before throwing it back to center field during their game against Prosser Saturday.