Ephrata homer halts Pine Forge
Indians reach semifinals before bowing out to hosts
EPHRATA, WASH. >> It’s been more than a decade since back-to-back home runs had been hit out of the Ephrata High School baseball field, otherwise known as Johnson-O’Brien Stadium.
It happened on Friday night, becoming the beginning of the end for the Pine Forge Indians.
The dream of playing for a championship came to an end for the Indians at the 2016 Senior Babe Ruth Worlds Series as Pine Forge lost its semifinal showdown with the host team, the Columbia Basin (Wash.) River Dogs. The River Dogs, the defending World Series champions, walked away with a 9-1 win over the Indians to earn a spot in Saturday’s title game with the Alabama Rawdogs.
The Rawdogs, who won the Southwest regional title, defeated Southeast champion Union County, N.C., in the other semifinal game, 12-2.
The first home run in the third inning broke a 1-1 tie, while the second gave Columbia Basin the lead for good. The In- dians were limited to one hit in the con- test by River Dogs ace pitcher Hunter
Boyd, who recorded eight strikeouts.
The River Dogs finished with 10 hits off PF pitchers Ener Rosario and Jonathan Wack, including six for extra bases. But Pine Forge manager Andy Duffy said it was the pair of homers that ignited the defending champs’ push to the finals.
“Columbia Basin hits the ball very well, and had a good pitcher on the mound. That’s what it takes to win,” Duffy said. “We couldn’t be more proud of our kids. They put in a lot of work this season — this isn’t the finish we wanted, but it was still a good performance.”
A Columbia Basin error set up Pine Forge for its one run of the game in the second inning. The miscue put Indian first baseman Ben Longacre on base — he would score on a single by Jordan Shustack.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as the River Dogs tied the game in the bottom of the same inning when Cooper Larson doubled and came around to score on a groundout. The tie was broken three pitches into the bottom of the third frame when CB catcher Justin DeHoog, who played his high school baseball at JohnsonO’Brien Stadium, blasted a home run over the left field wall.
One batter later, River Dog extra hitter Nick Lopez (from Quincy High, 20 miles west of Ephrata) hit his first home run of the year in nearly the exact same spot that DeHoog’s shot cleared the wall. The Dogs finished the inning with a 4-1 lead, then added four more runs in the fourth inning and one final run in the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Boyd struck out the side in the second inning after Pine Forge had scored its one run, and allowed the Indians just two more baserunners over the last five innings.