Weather forces delays in Basin sports
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months AGO
MOSES LAKE — Several sporting events across the Basin have been postponed this weekend due to rain and snow causing conditions on the field to be unsuitable for play. Ephrata Tigers baseball Head Coach David Tempel was out shoveling snow Friday morning to keep the field in the best condition possible to resume a planned tournament Saturday.
“This morning I got up and saw all the snow and got on the phone with my AD. We made the decision fairly quickly that games would be canceled today. We've alerted all the teams involved. We're going to shoot to try and get them all in tomorrow,” Tempel said.
Alongside Ephrata, several schools including Moses Lake, Quincy, Othello and Warden have either canceled or postponed sporting events scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The Tigers were set to host several schools, including the Jacks and Cougars baseball teams for a two-day tournament, Tempel said. Thanks to the weather, they have delayed Friday’s games with the hopes of resuming play Saturday with a revised schedule.
If the conditions of the field improve by Saturday, teams will play a shortened tournament where each game is limited to five innings so that each school competing has a few opportunities to play.
“That's all the kids want; that's all we as coaches want, is just an opportunity to play and see where our squads are at,” Tempel said.
Though some athletes would relish the opportunity to slide through the mud or live out a scene from the Sandlot movie, the conditions of the fields create too much opportunity for risk, the coach said.
“First and foremost, we will make sure players have a safe playing surface to play on. If it were a turf field, that'd be a little bit different. But with it being a natural surface, with the dirt and so forth, and the grass there, there's just too many opportunities for something unfortunate to happen,” he said.
The Tigers Athletic Director Bryan Johnson is optimistic they can resume the tournament Saturday, however, if they are unable to it could cause teams to lose a few games to start the season.
“There might be some chances (to reschedule), but it gets tough,” Johnson said. “We got to try to cram three games in a week. So (if) you go to four games in a week, that can be taxing on pitching for baseball and pitch counts and stuff.”
Despite the delayed start to their season, Tempel is confident this won’t disrupt his team’s hopes for a strong start to the 2026 season.
“I know my guys were excited to play, but they'll just have to temper that eagerness for one more day and we'll get back out here tomorrow. Sometimes Mother Nature throws you curve balls and sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows, and you just got to adapt and adjust,” Tempel said.
See below the current postponements and cancellations for this weekend. Updates will be made to this story as more information becomes available.
Ephrata
Baseball
March 13 vs. St Bernard S Catholic, 12:30 p.m. – postponed
Boys Golf
March 13 @ Lakeview Golf & Country Club, noon – cancelled
MLHS
Baseball
March 13 vs. Kennewick, 3 p.m. – postponed
March 14 vs. Graham-Kapowsin, noon – cancelled
Softball
March 13 vs. Mt. Spokane, 3 p.m. – postponed
Boys Golf
March 13 @ Lakeview Golf & Country Club, noon – cancelled
Othello
Soccer
March 14 vs Warden, noon – cancelled
Quincy
Baseball
March 13 vs. Warden @ Ephrata HS, 12:30 p.m. – postponed
March 13 vs. St. Bernard S Catholic @ Ephrata HS, 3 p.m. – postponed
Softball
March 14 @ Medical Lake, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. – cancelled
Warden
Baseball
March 13 vs. Quincy @ Ephrata HS, 12:30 p.m. – postponed
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.
