Mistakes hurt Ephrata, boost Connell

Hawks score all four runs off errors to defeat Tigers 4-1

CONNELL — Connell's Chantel Booker did her thing on the mound, while Ephrata didn't do their thing on defense.

The Hawks capitalized on four errors and two wild pitches to pull out a 4-1 win over the Tigers Thursday at Connell High School. While the loss didn't eliminate Ephrata from the CWAC district tournament, head coach Heather Wood felt her team eliminated themselves from a win against Connell early in their game.

"I don't know if we were scared, I don't know what the deal was," Wood said.

Wood said it looked like her team withdrew after Connell put two runs on the board off two errors and a wild pitch in the first inning and never rebounded. Besides being their own factor in the loss, Booker became the other factor in shutting down the Tigers.

Booker went the distance in the complete game and was a bobbled-ball-on-a-low-line-drive-to-left-field away from a no-hitter. She struck out seven and allowed three base runners in the game, including the run scored in the sixth after K.K. Bossert reached on the only single of the game and scored on a throwing error from Booker.

"She is the fastest our team has seen all year," Wood added about Ephrata's difficulty at the plate.

After Booker struck out the second and third batter of the first inning, Lauryn Koelyer reached base on a dropped pop up after the first and second basemen collided trying to make the play. Koelyer advanced to second on sacrifice bunt and to third on a Laurin Eppich single.

With two outs, Koelyer scored on a third baseman throwing error and Eppich scored on a wild pitch.

In the third, Connell pushed the lead to 3-0 after Eppich scored again after a Michelle Hadley ground ball slid between the second baseman's legs. In the fifth, the Hawks found their fourth run on a wild pitch to score Trisha Quinton.

Ephrata took advantage of the throwing error by Booker in the sixth to score Bossert, then Booker ended the Tigers hopes in the seventh, getting the first two batters to fly out to right field and the third to ground out to the first baseman.

The Tigers season continues on Saturday in Omak for the final stretch of the CWAC district tournament. Ephrata will face the winner of Omak and Kiona-Benton that morning in a loser-out draw.

After the loss to Connell, Wood said something needs to change before Saturday's game.

"I told them we need to start playing with heart," Wood added. "We need the desire to win."