Ellensburg sweeps Ephrata to stay in CWAC baseball hunt
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldEphrata shortstop Zac Berryman makes the play to first base to throw out the runner during the second game of Saturday's CWAC doubleheader with Ellensburg.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata's Austin Webb (2) steps on second base to force Ellensburg runner Trace Townsend (1) out on Saturday during CWAC baseball action at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium.
EPHRATA — They’ll know a little more about the Central Washington Athletic Conference next after a doubleheader with Othello. But for the time being, the Ellensburg Bulldogs are right there in the mix with Saturday's sweep over Ephrata at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium
Ellensburg won the first game 4-1, then put on a hitting clinic in the late game, scoring 15 runs with 15 hits to win 15-0 win in five innings.
“The first game we didn’t play too badly. We had a couple of errors. We had opportunities offensively. We just didn’t take advantage of them when we had the chance,” said Ephrata coach Jason Laugen, whose team was coming off a well-played 7-5 loss to Selah earlier in the week. “Game 2, the wheels fell off. Ellensburg is a good fundamental team. They don’t make too many mistakes and you got to go out and beat them. We made too many mistakes. We beat ourselves today.”
Ellensburg 15, Ephrata 0
The Bulldogs (7-2, 6-1 CWAC) sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning, finally chasing Ephrata starter Gavin Burns with four straight RBI singles. The young Tigers flustered a bit under the barrage, committing two of their five errors in the first inning, and it was over before it started. Ellensburg scored 12 runs on nine hits before Ephrata even came to the plate.
“They lost several guys and they’re a really young team. But the thing I noticed about (Ephrata) today was that they didn’t get down, they didn’t just quit,” Ellensburg coach Todd Gibson. “They were up on the fence, picking each other up right to the end. I’ll probably text Jason (Laugen) once we get on the bus.
“Once they get used to playing with each other, they could be a different team the second time through.”
Ellensburg 4, Ephrata 1
The Bulldogs were off and running in both games. In the opener, they scored two in the first inning and another in the third to take control early with a 3-0 lead.
Ephrata, which out-hit Ellensburg 6-3, scored its lone run in the in the bottom of the fourth.
“We’re going to have to figure out a way to compete against these guys at the top of the CWAC,” Laugen said. Right now we’re fighting for the three-four-five spot, but if we can come back and get some of these games at home, we could be in the mix.”
East Valley had three pitchers (Jared Sires, Dillan Morrow and Jacob Changala) combine for a no-hitter on Saturday against Toppenish. With the sweep over the Wildcats, East Valley (8-1, 7-0) moves to the top of the CWAC standings to set up what is expected to be a exciting second half.
“We had a lead on Selah and hit a rough patch and ended up splitting with Selah,” said Gibson. “East Valley beat Othello. We play Othello next week, so we’ll find out. But it’s still a tough league and the second half should be interesting.”