Tigers remain confident after tough start to the season

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tigers (0-3) hosted Wenatchee Tuesday afternoon, where they fell 0-16 on the pitch. Tigers Head Coach Lesa Trevino said after facing 4A teams for their first three games of the season, the team is better prepared for when they begin playing in league. 

“The first inning is kind of what hurt us the most, but it’s non-league so we kind of went into it thinking, ‘Let’s just get as much experience as we can before we start league in a couple weeks,’” said Trevino. “It was a rough start, but once we got it going, it looked a lot better.” 

Wenatchee got on the board in the top of the first inning, and from there went on a tear to gain a 9-0 lead over the Tigers. Following their struggles in the first inning, the Tigers picked themselves up and worked to slow down the game.  

While Ephrata wasn’t able to score any runs throughout the matchup, the team stayed competitive until the very end. Wenatchee stayed consistent in scoring to extend their lead and end the game on a 10-run rule in the fifth inning. 

Bayleigh French started on the mound for the Tigers, where she pitched for over a third of an inning. Sidney Chornuk pitched in relief for four and one-third innings, where she struck out three and walked five. Cami Martinez led the Tigers with one hit in two at-bats and made key catches in centerfield.  

Trevino said the trouble for the Tigers came down to Wenatchee hitting well, and the Ephrata infield didn’t communicate with each other to react to those hits. 

“We need to work on a lot of communication, a lot of situations, but for the most part, there’s still a lot of positives that happened,” said the coach. “Sidney threw a great game when she came in, our catcher did phenomenal behind the plate, we had a couple good hits, Cami made some good plays out in center as well.” 

As the Tigers make their way through the first games of the season, Trevino said she wants the team to take things one step at a time and build up all the skills they will need to succeed once league play starts.  

The important aspect of the game that she said Ephrata is already showing is playing “team first softball”.  

“They’re having each other’s backs, and that’s huge, and they’re trying to make the moves that are necessary,” said the coach. “We’re going to keep focusing on that team first softball, the fundamentals and just keep driving that (in).” 

Opening their first games of the season against tough 4A opponents, Trevino said, is a testimony to what they will be facing when they begin league play in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. The CWAC is full of competitive teams that can hit, and it will be important that the Tigers are prepared to defend against that. 

“We’re starting to get there,” she said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that once we put it all together, it’s going to be solid. Now we need to warm up our bats, and we need to get those going.” 

The Tigers are set to host a softball tournament this weekend where they will face Eisenhower at 10 a.m. and Colville at 2 p.m. Ephrata begins league play next Saturday on the road in a doubleheader against East Valley with the first game at 11 a.m. 

BOX SCORE 

WNTC: 9-2-1-2-2: 16
EPHT: 0-0-0-0-0: 0 

ROSTER  

Player, Jersey 

Cami Martinez, 1
Brynnle Leonard, 2
Sidney Chornuk, 3
Flor Rivera-Nazario, 4
Riley Trusty, 5
Dakota Durfee, 7
Hannah Hull, 8
Regan Shannon, 9
Haley Trusty, 11
Bailey Falconer, 12
Ella Piturachsatit, 14
Ellie Kono, 16
Bayleigh French, 18 

    Ephrata’s Ella Piturachsatit steps up to bat during Tuesday afternoon’s game against Wenatchee.
  

    Haley Trusty from Ephrata prepares to throw the ball back toward the diamond after getting ahold of it in the outfield.
  

    Tiger’s player Cami Martinez makes a catch in centerfield for Wenatchee’s third out at the top of the fifth inning Tuesday afternoon.
  

    Hannah Hull from EHS prepares to hit the ball during Tuesday’s game against Wenatchee.