Ephrata grad takes mound in state all-star baseball game

EPHRATA — Ephrata graduate Cody Black wrapped up his high school career by taking the mound in one final baseball game last weekend, suiting up for Team Rainier in the Washington All-State Baseball Series in Yakima.

“It was really an honor to be recognized for all this and to be able to play one last game with the Ephrata hat on, and the uniform to be able to represent this one more time,” Black said. 

Black pitched for two innings in Saturday’s game against Team St. Helens, throwing against the most talented seniors in the state from the 4A through 2B classifications, many of which are advancing on to play at the collegiate level. 

“It was a really cool experience being able to play with a bunch of players with high skill sets,” Black said. “I got to throw two innings, and facing those seven, eight batters, every one of those batters was the best player or one of the best players on their teams and in their league. It was challenging, but it was really fun to be with the best of the best and a bunch of college commits.”

The recent Tiger graduate credited his Ephrata teammates for helping him reach last weekend’s All-State Series.

“It was a really cool thing for me, not only just for me and all the hard work I’ve put in as a pitcher – it’s a whole team effort,” Black said. “I can’t go out there and do good without a good defense and without a good offense. It really just showed the improvement the Ephrata team has made this year, especially with first-year coach David Tempel. It was really cool to see not only my hard work throughout the years being paid off in this accomplishment but also everyone else’s.”

During the 2024 season, Black went 4-5 as a starter with a 1.62 ERA and 64 strikeouts. He received his second consecutive first-team nod in the Central Washington Athletic Conference this spring.

“One of our struggles last year was defense, so to be able to trust my defense this year a lot more because of the hard work they put in, I could leave a lot more pitches over the plate and I knew my defense would have my back,” Black said. 

Black started playing baseball at a young age, but his interest in the sport sparked when he was on a 9U team. 

“Baseball just always stuck out to me,” Black said. “I liked the idea that it’s hard to blame other people in the game. Being a pitcher, you ultimately have the deciding pitch every time. If you do bad, everyone knows – I just really liked that about the game.”

He began approaching pitching more seriously once he reached the high school ranks, he said. 

“I started focusing on my pitching my sophomore year when I made varsity,” Black said. “I kind of went away from playing in the field.”

The two-day all-state weekend saw Team St. Helens defeat Team Rainier 9-2 and Team Adams defeat Team Baker 8-3 on Saturday, and Baker defeating Rainier 9-6 on Sunday. In the championship game Sunday afternoon, St. Helens defeated Adams 11-9.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Ephrata graduate Cody Black takes the mound during a practice leading up to the 2024 season. On the mound, Black went 4-5 as a starter with a 1.62 ERA and 64 strikeouts this spring, earning his second straight first-team all-CWAC honor.