Sports

EPHRATA — Mike Ratigan stepped onto the mound to defend his home field against the visiting Jacks on Tuesday, but was unable to secure a win for his club.

Quincy came out swinging with Colby Melburn, the lead-off hitter, singling to begin the game, followed by a single to left field from Zach Aguirre.

Quincy pitcher Aguirre needed some time to warm up to the mound, hitting his first batter and walking his second. Aaron Key came to the plate for Ephrata and tried to execute a bunt but it was fielded by Aguirre, who executed a doubleplay.

The first score of the game came one batter later, when Ephrata's Mike Ratigan aced a line drive double to bring Chris Smith home.

In the second inning, Mike Ratigan struggled to find the plate walking Quincy catcher Smokey Baughman and giving up singles to Craig Peterson and Eric Lopez.

Ephrata had their scoring burst in the bottom of the second with four runs. Aaron Lutz doubled to start the rally and Ratigan finished with a home run.

In the fourth inning Wayne Walker made his mark with a two run homer.

"I found a problem with his hitting so we worked on it quite a bit in practice yesterday," said Coach Pat McGuire.

This boost to Quincy's offense came on the heels of an RBI from Craig Peterson and was followed by an RBI from Aguirre. Quincy closed the inning having tied up the ball game.

In the top of the fifth inning, Smokey Baughman went long for a homerun and had the only score of the inning.

Ephrata switched pitchers in the top of the sixth, bringing Forrest Reid in from the outfield and shifting Ratigan to short stop. This change up, however, had little effect upon the Quincy hitters. Kasey Curnutt had a double on a mishandled ball and was brought home by a line drive from Andy Harris. In turn, Harris and Baughman were hit home by Craig Peterson.

The Tigers were able to put together a scoring rally of their own, in the bottom of the sixth, with Thomas Bossert, Forrest Reid, Chris Smith and Aaron Key all scoring for Ephrata. Zach Aguirre struggled on the mound. "It is unusual to see Zach struggle in a game," said Coach McGuire.

A new pitcher stirred the dust on the mound for Ephrata in the final inning. Cody Gross came out to close for the Tigers and try to pull out a win.

The deciding run came on a mishandled ball. Quincy's Colby Melburn was able to sneak across home plate after a missed catch by Thomas Bossert.

The final score was Quincy 10, Ephrata 9.

After the game, Coach Pat McGuire had this to say, "Both pitchers were very good but were playing against two high powered offenses."