Warden Cougars sweep Highland

WARDEN — The Warden Cougars baseball team capitalized on a pair of strong offensive performances Tuesday afternoon to sweep a doubleheader from South Central Athletic Conference foe Highland.

The Cougars scored runs in every inning of game one to propel themselves to a 16-1 victory.

Highland made their way on to the scoreboard in the top of the first inning when the Scots managed to score a run on Warden starting pitcher Geo Flores.

Although Highland was able to score the first run of the game one, Warden scored the next 16 to earn the conference victory.

Despite falling behind in the top of the first inning, the Cougars rallied for four runs in the bottom of the first and four in the bottom of the second to take a commanding 8-1 lead after just two inning of play.

After allowing a run in the first inning, Flores settled down to allow just five Highland hits in the contest.

Warden would add a pair of runs in the third inning for a 10-1 lead and the Cougars offense exploded on the scoreboard in the fourth with six runs to take a 16-1 lead. Flores shut out the Scots in the top of the fifth and Warden earned the 16-1 mercy-rule victory.

Warden’s Arty Reyes finished game one with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with a home run and John Birkholder went 2-for-4 with a home run of his own. Jacob Yamane and Derek Pruneda each went 3-for-3 with a double, and Robert Pruneda and Jesse Guerra each went 2-for-2.

Warden 13, Highland 1

WARDEN — The Warden Cougars offense began the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader in much the same way they ended the first game, by scoring runs.

After Warden starting pitcher Michael Smith kept the Scots off of the scoreboard in the first, Warden took an early 5-0 lead thanks to a potent offensive performance.

Warden began to put game two away early as the Cougars scored seven runs in the second to take a commanding 12-0 lead.

Smith continued to keep Highland off of the scoreboard throughout much of game two, his only blemish coming in the fourth when the Scots broke up the shut out. Highland’s run cut the Warden advantage to 12-1.

Although Highland broke up the shut out, Warden scored a run of their own in the fourth inning to reclaim the 12-run advantage. Smith shut out the Scots in the top of the fifth and Warden won their second mercy-rule shortened game of the afternoon.

Othello 10, East Valley 0

YAKIMA, Wash. — The Othello baseball team capitalized on a strong pitching performance from starter Michael Garza to earn the 10-0 Central Washington Athletic Conference victory Tuesday afternoon.

Garza struck out five Red Devils batters to help the Huskies earn the shut out.

The Huskies scored single runs in the first and third to take a 2-0 lead into the top of the fifth. Othello scored four runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to secure the 10-run mercy-rule victory.

Lee Gomez led the Huskies at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run. Gomez also knocked in three runs. David Garza helped put Tuesday’s game out of reach with a 3-run home run in the top of the sixth inning. Othello improved to 7-3 overall with the victory.

Quincy 13, Toppenish 3

QUINCY — The Quincy Jackrabbits baseball team put one in the win column Tuesday afternoon with a 13-3 victory over Central Washington Athletic Conference foe Toppenish.

The Jacks scored in every inning but the second to cruise to the victory.

Brett Petersen led the Jackrabbits at the plate with a perfect 3-for-3 performance. Petersen had a double and a pair of RBIs for Quincy. John Navarro went 2-for-4 and Case Hinkins went 2-for-3 for Quincy. Both Navarro and Hinkins knocked in a pair of RBIs apiece.

Ellensburg 15, Ephrata 10

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The Ephrata Tigers boys baseball team jumped on the fourth-ranked Bulldogs in the top of the first inning, but the Tigers couldn’t hold the advantage and Ellensburg rallied for the 15-10 Central Washington Athletic Conference victory.

Ephrata took a 1-0 lead into the second before Ellensburg came back in the home-half of the inning to take a 3-1 lead into the third. Ephrata tied the game with a pair in the third, but the Bulldogs scored a combined 12 runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to knock off Ephrata.