Eastmont sweeps Moses Lake
Derrick Pacheco/Columbia Basin Herald<br> Moses Lake senior catcher Shelby Gonzales (11) hits a ball toward second base during the Chiefs' 15-2 loss to Eastmont Tuesday afternoon.
MOSES LAKE — After dropping the first game of Tuesday’s non-conference doubleheader with the visiting Eastmont Wildcats, the Moses Lake girls softball team couldn’t recover in game two.
After nine innings Tuesday afternoon, Eastmont was able to push a run across the plate and the Wildcats managed to hold on for a 5-4 victory and a doubleheader sweep.
Although Moses Lake dropped both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader, the games didn’t affect Moses Lake in Big Nine Columbia Division play, head coach Dave Gregory said.
“This was non-league,” he said. “We are still 4-4.”
Moses Lake battled with Eastmont through the early stages of game one before a late Wildcat rally broke the game open and Eastmont held on for a 15-2 mercy-rule victory.
The Chiefs managed to settle down in the second game thanks in part to a solid performance on the mound from junior pitcher Karly Stoltman, Gregory said.
“Karly pitched great in the second game,” he said.
After the Chiefs recuperated following the game-one loss, Moses Lake pushed Eastmont into extra innings. Neither team managed to score late and the international tie-breaker was implemented.
If teams are tied from the ninth inning and on, a runner is placed on second base before the inning begins, Gregory said.
With an Eastmont base runner starting at second in the ninth, the Wildcats managed to push her across the plate for a 5-4 victory.
Gregory said he was proud of his team’s effort in the second game, but he said his team is inexperienced.
“We are real young and we are still playing nervous,” he said. “We are struggling now with the young kids, but we will be ready come playoff time.”
Chelan 13, Ephrata 3
EPHRATA — The Ephrata girls softball team fell behind 2-0 early and the Tigers couldn’t recover in a 13-3 loss to the visiting Chelan Goats.
The Goats racked up 15 hits and capitalized on eight Ephrata errors to help put the non-conference game away.
Ephrata fell behind 2-0 after the top of the first inning, but the Tigers managed to claw their way back in the bottom half to cut the lead to 2-1. However, Chelan scored in every inning but the fifth to put the game out of reach.
The Tigers closed the gap to 5-3 after three innings before a run in the fourth and a pair in the sixth gave the Goats an 8-3 advantage. Chelan was able to add five more in the top of the seventh to clinch the game.