Diamond Ducks take two wins over Tigers

EPHRATA — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Diamond Ducks earned two convincing victories Tuesday evening over the Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club. The Diamond Ducks mounted a comeback to win 7-4 in game one and maintained their momentum to earn a 4-3 victory in game two. 

"It was great to get two wins,” said Diamond Ducks Head Coach Hunter Lee. “We were very excited about that and against a pretty good team. It was a great night. That was our goal to get two wins and we accomplished that.” 

The Tigers were first on the board in game one as Isiah Davis singled to score Caleb Froewiss and Casten Iverson was struck by a pitch to score Mitchell Johsnon in the bottom of the first inning. After a scoreless second inning, Ephrata added an additional run in the third after Iverson grounded out to score Froewiss.

Things turned around for the Diamond Ducks in the top of the fourth inning as ACH scored five runs on two hits to take the lead. The biggest blow in the inning came from a single by Ethan Martinez that drove in Cade Carstensen and Ty Nelson. 

ACH extended their lead in the top of the fifth after Esai Gonzales scored on a passed ball and Brody Pitts scored on an error. The Tigers added one additional run in the bottom of the sixth after Dayne Holland grounded out to score Iverson, but the Diamond Ducks remained ahead and closed out game one with a 7-4 victory. 

“We actually got out-hit, and we made several errors, and we still found a way to win,” said Lee. “We took advantage of some mistakes on their part and did some things on the base pass to kind of just manufacture a few runs.” 

Eli Edwards was first on the mound for the Diamond Ducks in game one where he allowed six hits and four runs over six innings while striking out five. Nolan Grindy pitched an inning of relief for ACH where he gave up one hit and struck out one with zero walks allowed. 

First on the mound for Ephrata was Cale Fronsman who gave up two hits and five runs over four innings while striking out seven. He was followed by Clayton Wolther who allowed two hits and threw four strikeouts in two innings and Isaiah Davis who threw one strikeout in the final inning. 

Riding off the momentum of the first game, the Diamond Ducks were first to score in game two with Jackson Elder hitting a single on a line drive to score Edwards. Gonzales singled on a ground ball to score Zach Booker and Grindy scored on an error. 

The Diamond Ducks extended their lead in the top of the third after Edwards hit a pop fly and reached on an error to score Carstensen, putting the game at 4-0. 

Ephrata responded in the bottom of the fourth as Froewiss grounded out to score Andrew Rowlands, Johnson scored on a wild pitch and Fronsman scored on a passed ball. Both teams held their ground for the remaining innings, and ultimately the Diamond Ducks claimed the victory 4-3 in game two. 

“It was a good chance for our guys to play some good, close, competitive games and figure out different ways to win,” said Lee. 

Haydon Boyd was first on the mound for ACH where he gave up two hits and three runs over five innings while striking out five. Ethan Martinez pitched two innings to close out the game where he allowed one hit and threw two strikeouts. 

Lee said he was very pleased with how the team pitched throughout the doubleheader and noted that as a key factor in their success Tuesday. 

The Tigers had Jaxson Uribe first up to pitch in game two where he surrendered four hits and three runs over one and two-thirds innings. Froewiss pitched two innings of relief where he allowed two hits and threw four strikeouts, and Johnson closed out the remaining innings with two strikeouts. 

Tigers assistant coach David McKeehan, who led the team while Head Coach David Tempel took vacation, said despite coming out of the day with losses, he was proud of how the team competed. 

“I liked how we looked for most of the doubleheader,” said McKeehan. “ACH is a good team, and it was a great opportunity for our guys to go out and compete.” 

The Ephrata coach said the players swung the bat well, got great jumps on bases and competed through the entirety of both games. One thing he feels the team needs to work on is limiting the freebies and improving their ability to bounce back after rough plays. 

“Improving our mental side is an important part of the game that will benefit them not only for the rest of our season, but for the rest of their high school careers as well,” he said. 

McKeehan said as they head into the remainder of the season, the Tigers are going to improve on their approaches at the plate and continue to build confidence in each other. 

Coming off two victories over a tough Tigers team, Lee said this sets up the Diamond Ducks well for the remainder of the season. Tuesday's success brings the team one step closer to earning a spot in the Tillage League playoffs next weekend. 

“Hopefully we continue to win a few more games here towards the end of the season and then find our way into that tournament and see what happens,” said Lee. 

The Diamond Ducks remain on the road Thursday to face the Chelan Sox in a double header with the first game starting at 4 p.m. The Tigers head on the road Thursday to face the KC Cowboys for a double header in Ellensburg with the first game starting at 2 p.m. 

BOX SCORES 

GAME ONE:  

ACHD: 0-0-0-5-2-0-0: 7 

EPHT: 2-0-1-0-0-1-0: 4 

GAME TWO:  

ACHD: 0-3-1-0-0-0-0: 4 

EPHT: 0-0-0-3-0-0-0: 3

    Brody Pitts rushes to get safe on third base while Cale Fronsman from the Tigers hopes to get a catch to tag out the Diamond Duck at the last second.
  

    Deegan Klaus from Ephrata watches the pitch as he prepares to make a run for third base with ACH’s Nolan Grindy standing on guard to try and get a quick out.
  

    Tigers player Casten Iverson steps up to bat against the Diamond Ducks during Tuesday's game.
  

    Diamond Ducks player Jackson Elder steps up to bat in Tuesday’s game against Ephrata.
  

    Ephrata’s Mayson Stredwick prepares to make a run for home base with Tigers Assistant Coach David McKeehan looking on.