Kodiaks top Tigers

EPHRATA — Although the Ephrata softball team dropped a 13-2 decision to the visiting Cascade Kodiaks from Leavenworth Tuesday afternoon, Tigers’ head coach Heather Wood said her team is coming along.

“We have worked on the fundamentals,” she said. “We need to work on the little things.”

Cascade scored runs in every inning Tuesday afternoon before the 10-run mercy rule went into effect after the sixth inning completed.

Although her team lost the non-conference game at home Tuesday to Cascade, Wood said she saw some encouraging performances on the field.

“We cut down on our errors,” she said. “We had eight last game and we cut that in half. We only had four (against Cascade). We are plugging away.”

The Kodiaks jumped on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead before the Tigers had an opportunity at the plate.

Cascade starting pitcher Taylor Gilbert kept Ephrata hitters off balance for the majority of Tuesday’s game.

Despite only tallying five hits, Wood said she was encouraged by her team’s performances at the plate.

“We hit the ball pretty well today, even though we only had five hits,” she said.

Ephrata junior pitchers Crystal Millard and Sarah McMartin made their first pitching appearances of the season and Wood said she saw some bright spots in their performances.

“Both of our pitchers hadn’t thrown yet this season,” she said. “They did OK for their first game. We will get them back to throwing in practice and work on their (fundamentals).”

The Kodiaks added to their lead throughout the game’s six innings, taking a 13-0 advantage into the bottom of the sixth.

Ephrata managed to get a pair of runs across the plate in the home-half of the inning, but Cascade maintained a 10-plus run advantage and the game ended.

Although Ephrata fell in defeat, Wood was impressed with her team’s determination.

“We are showing positive strengths,” she said. “Even though we are losing, we still have that drive.”