Ephrata shuts out Othello

EPHRATA — The Ephrata High School baseball team earned a pivotal Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) victory Tuesday afternoon when the Tigers shut out the visiting Othello Huskies 7-0 at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium.

The Tigers got off to a fast start in the first inning and Ephrata never looked back as the Tigers improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in CWAC play.

After Ephrata starting pitcher Brett Robinson kept the Huskies off of the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, the Ephrata offense got to work in the bottom half of the inning.

Following three consecutive walks to start the home-half of the first, Ephrata third baseman Tyson Hubbard got a hold of a hanging curve ball and hit it out of the park for his first grand slam of the season and a 4-0 Ephrata lead.

Hubbard said it felt great to give his team an early lead over their CWAC rival.

“It was really nice,” he said. “It was a nice hanging curve ball. It felt good (when I hit it).”

Ephrata head coach Jason Laugen said Hubbard and his Tigers were able to capitalize on their opportunities during the game.

“We had a few timely hits,” he said. “(Othello) walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and (Hubbard) got a hold of one.”

With Hubbard giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead after the first inning, Ephrata jumped on Othello early, Laugen said.

“We had a goal to come out strong, we wanted to make a statement,” he said. “We were able to take advantage of Othello’s mistakes.”

After Hubbard gave Robinson a four-run cushion to start the second inning, the Ephrata right-hander got to work on the mound. Robinson kept the Othello hitters off balance Tuesday night with his repertoire of pitches, he said.

“I felt good, I was loose,” Robinson said of his performance. “(My) fastball, change up, curve ball, and slider (all) felt good.”

Robinson continued to keep the Othello bats quite Tuesday afternoon, surrendering just three hits on his way to earning the conference win.

Othello head coach Larry Gonzalez said he was impressed with Robinson’s pitching performance.

“Robinson did a great job on the hill,” he said of Ephrata’s starting pitcher.

After Robinson kept the Huskies off of the scoreboard in the top of the second inning, he helped his own cause at the plate in the bottom of the second. Robinson connected on an Othello pitch, sending it over the chain-link fence in the outfield to give Ephrata a 5-0 lead.

With his home run extending the Ephrata advantage, Robinson said he quickly forgot about solo shot and turned his focus toward the mound.

“You can’t let (the home run) affect you,” he said. “You have to stay focused.”

Robinson did, the senior struck out the side in the sixth inning and kept the Huskies off the base paths in the seventh to secure the win.

While Robinson managed to keep Othello off the scoreboard, he said he couldn’t have done it without his team playing strong defense.

“They did really well,” Robinson said of his team’s defensive performance. “It was the best they have played all season.”

Robinson’s coach agreed.

“The defense played phenomenal the whole game,” Laugen said. “(They) made some plays today (they) wouldn’t have made in the past couple of games.”

Following Tuesday’s 7-0 win over Othello, Hubbard said his team is playing solidly.

“I’m glad we are starting to peak,” he said. “I hope we can keep it up. We have some tough competition ahead.”

Although Othello fell on the road, Gonzalez said his team will learn from Tuesday’s loss.

“We can’t afford (to give up) the walks,” he said. “We need timely hitting. We had opportunities with runners on, we just couldn’t put hits together. We just got to rise to the challenge. ”