Quincy flirted with Ephrata's record

Ephrata's league win record extends to 75 games

For 74 games, the Ephrata baseball team has been untouchable in its league games.

On Tuesday at Tiger Stadium, Quincy took the Tigers down to the final inning, before Reid Forrest drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning and extending the league record to 75 games.

Quincy opted to walk Nathan Sieverkropp in the bottom of the seventh after Aaron Key started the inning with a double to left-center field and advanced to third on a ground out by Billy Sangster. Forrest, who came to the final at bat with two doubles and two RBIs, hit a hard grounder off Smoky Baughman with one out to score Key for the winning run.

"I think they were just hoping I would hit into a double play to get out of the inning," Forrest said. "I was looking to put the ball in order and the first baseman was holding to the bag so I wanted to hit it towards the gap."

Ephrata head coach Dave Johnson didn't disagree with the move to walk Sieverkropp to pitch to Forrest, but did add that it was a risky move to look for a double play opportunity in high school baseball.

"That wasn't a bad move and Reid is the NO. 9 batter," Johnson said, but added, "Reid is pretty fast and he runs from the left side and is hard to double up."

Quincy's Martin Aguirre and Ephrata's Sangster squared off on the mound, but Matt McDonald picked up the win for the Tigers. In his first appearance of the season, McDonald gave up a run attributed to Sangster to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh inning, but wound up with the win as the pitcher of record.

Aguirre finished with the loss after giving up six runs, four earned, 10 hits, four walks and six strike outs in 7 1/3 innings pitched. After giving up the lead off double to Key in the bottom of the seventh, the Jacks' head coach opted to keep Aguirre in the game.

"I considered it, but he is a team captain and a leader and he gets stronger in that situation," McGuirre said. "He had been getting himself out of those situations all day and who better to get himself out of that."

Ephrata, who came in with a 74 league-game winning streak, started the game with the first three runs.

In the bottom of the second inning, Key started a two out rally after getting hit by a pitch, moved to second base on a single to right field by Sangster and scored on Sieverkropp's double to left-center field.

Forrest doubled in both Sangster and Sieverkropp in the next at bat with his first double of the game.

But, Quincy didn't let down. In the top of the third inning, Gerald Moore singled to right field to score Aguirre. After a walk to Kelly Hodges, Andy Morris hit a dribbler to the Ephrata pitcher Sangster, who threw the ball over Wyatt Forrest at first base, scoring Moore from third base and Hodges from second base.

"I was impressed with our kids and the character they showed in coming back whenever Ephrata scored," McGuirre said. "I was impressed with the attitude that they didn't want to give up either."

Ephrata threatened to take the lead in the fifth inning with a bases loaded opportunity, but Aguirre forced Ephrata's Key into a fielder's choice to get the lead runner out at home plate and got Sangster to ground out to third base.

But, it all went downhill for the Jacks in the bottom of the sixth after Aguirre got Wyatt Forrest to swing at a pitch in the dirt for the potential third out of the game, but the pitch got past catcher Hodges to score Ephrata's Daley Ervin from third and on the throw to Aguirre, who was covering home plate, the ball got past Aguirre and allowed McDonald to score from second base to give the Tigers a 5-3 lead.

"Martin made a great strike out pitch, but it was an awful way for their offense to score some runs," McGuirre said.

Quincy didn't give up and Zach Aguirre led off the top of the seventh inning with a single and was moved to second base on a bunt by Adam Ottley, moved to third base on Smoky Baughman's bloop single to right-center field and scored on Stormy Baughman's single to right field.

Moore drove in Smoky Baughman on a single to left field to tie the game and force the Tigers to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Forrest knocked in Key from third base on a hard grounder to Smoky Baughman to hand the Ephrata Tigers win No. 75 and first place in the CWAC North.

"That was a usual Quincy-Ephrata battle," Johnson said.