Falstad shuts down Prosser, Tigers advance to district semifinals
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata runner Zac Berryman slips under the sweeping tag of Prosser second baseman JR Coleman, taking second on a single into short right field during Tuesday's CWAC District Tournament game at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata runner Seth Elliott beats the come-back throw to the plate on a wild pitch to score in the first inning of Tuesday's CWAC District Tournament at Johnson-O'Brien Stadium.
EPHRATA — Tigers right-hander Gunnar Falstad flirted with a no-hitter going into the fourth inning, riding on the wave of Bo Hesse’s perfect game against Quincy in the CWAC regular season finale on Saturday.
Falstad finally gave up a flare down the right field line and Prosser scored three runs in the top half of the fifth. But it was all for naught.
No. 4 Ephrata (15-6) scored seven runs on five hits in the bottom of the first and added six more in the third to beat the No. 5 Mustangs 13-3 in five innings in the opening round of the CWAC District Tournament at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium.
Falstad pitched a gem with four scoreless innings, giving up just the one hit, one walk and two strikeouts for the win.
“Getting ahead of these guys (in the count) is important. The thing about Prosser is they are really aggressive at the plate. So getting ahead in the count is big so we don’t have to throw fastball to them all the time,” said Tigers catcher Ethan Etter. “Gunnar has really come into his own on the mound. He’s figuring out a little bit more on how to use his legs and getting a little bit more behind his fastball.”
Where Falstad was getting on top of the Mustangs (12-9) on the mound, the Tigers hitters leveled both barrels in the first inning, scoring seven runs with five hits. They chased Prosser starter Nathaniel Shipley in the first inning and ended up scoring six runs on four hits against reliever Bravo Benito in the third.
“We hit the ball well and won by 10 runs. I feel like we’re moving in the right direction at the right time,” said shortstop Zac Berryman, who was 2-for-3 and scored twice. “Our pitchers are feeling it. Gunnar had another great day today. Bo’s throwing well. Trenton’s been throwing well all year, so now we have three guys we can count on moving forward.”
Kleyn was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Etter drove in two runs. Center fielder David McKeehan had a triple to drive in two runs
The fourth-seeded Tigers will face No. 1 Ellensburg (17-3) on Saturday. No. 6 Othello (11-10) upset No. 3 East Valley (15-6) to advance to the district semifinals to face No. 2 Selah (18-2).
“I think we all feel pretty good going into the next few games,” Etter said. “We guaranteed ourselves three more games. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going against Ellensburg and get to the championship game.”
Prosser 0 0 0 0 3 - 3 3 2
Ephrata 7 0 6 0 x - 13 9 2
Hits: Zac Berryman 2-3, Trenton Kleyn 2-3. 3B - David McKeehan