Ephrata holds on in offensive showcase to sweep Othello

OTHELLO ­— Coors Field had nothing on Huskies Field and Saturday’s CWAC doubleheader proved to be a launching pad and an offensive showcase for both programs.

Ephrata’s Gunnar Falstad hit a grand slam in the top half of the sixth in the first game, finishing the game with five RBI to lead the Tigers (11-6, 10-5) to an 11-8 victory.

Zac Berryman had a triple and Matt Jones went 2-for-3 with a double for Ephrata, which broke an 8-8 tie in the seventh inning when Trenton Kleyn drove a 3-2 single into the gap to score two go-ahead runs.

The Huskies (10-7, 9-6) did not go quietly in the opener, providing their own pop at their house with four home runs of their own. Valente Garza and Adriel Gutierrez both homered in the third inning and Camron Valdez and AJ Pruneda, who had also doubled, had home runs in the fourth inning.

Ephrata completed the CWAC sweep 15-11 in the second game, which turned into another offensive showcase.

The Tigers scored 15 runs on 10 hits with 10 RBI. Berryman 3-for-4 with 2 RBI including a home run. Austin Webb was 2-3 with two RBI and Mac Laird was 3-for-5 with three RBI and double.

Again, Othello has to be wondering what it has to do to win a ballgame. The Huskies scored 11 runs on 12 hits and did one better than the Tigers with 11 RBI.

Camron Valdez 3-for-4 with a double, scored three runs and drove in a run. Josh Calzadillas finished the game with two hits, including an RBI.

With the sweep, the Tigers hold onto the fourth and final playoff slot in the CWAC, which has a log jam at the top with Selah (15-2, 13-2), East Valley (14-3, 13-2) and Ellensburg (13-2, 12-1).

The Huskies finish the regular season on the road with games at Prosser (Tuesday) and Selah (Saturday). The Tigers wrap up the regular season at home with East Valley (Tuesday) and finish with a twin bill against Quincy (Saturday).