The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PRESCOTT- After beating the Asotin Panthers in a doubleheader this weekend, the Lady Tigers faced mud, rain and the Weston- McEwen Tigerscots in a non-league game Tuesday afternoon.

Everyone battled slick bases and mud-filled shoes before the game was called in the top of the fifth due to weather.

The Tigers were behind 8-4, but the teams did not finish their required five innings so the winner is undetermined.

"They're a tough team," head coach Angie Potts said. "They were a state-ranked team and shut us down from the mound last year, so I'm very pleased with the improvement these girls showed today against this pitcher. It took us a while to settle in at the plate but who knows what would've happened if we would have finished the game."

The Tigers were down 0-3 in the bottom of the third only having one hit amongst them when Ashley Wilson slapped one up the middle to get things started for the Tigers.

The change ups and fast balls of the Tigerscots mound struck out the next two Tigers and thus the two out rally began.

Taylor Moon stepped up with two runners on base and popped one to center for her double RBI and the momentum of the Tigers bench took a 360.

Next at the plate was Sara Wilson and she answered with her own double sending Moon home and the Tigers tied the score 3-3.

Dionna Baker decided it was her turn and smacked a perfectly placed double for an RBI and the Tigers ended the third inning up by one 4-3.

Ashley Wilson dropped another hit into left field in the fourth, but the Tigerscots pitching got the best of them and the Tigers took to the field for the top of the fifth down by one 4-5.

By this time, the rain had been falling for quite some time and the balls just kept getting dirtier, the umpire called the game but not before the Tigerscots tallied up three more runs for a final score of 4-8. The Tigers had doubles by Hafen, Moon, Wilson and Baker and Ashley Wilson had two singles for the night.

One Tiger that was missing from the field is Senior Megan Withers. Her knee injury from basketball will keep her from suiting up for the rest of the year.

"I'm bummed that I'm not out there, but if I continue to play my knee will only get worse," Withers said.

In place of Withers, Dionna Baker will continue to suit up behind the plate for the Tigers. When asked what she thought about playing in all this mud, she replied: "It's tough. You try and get up and move around and you're all over the place, but I love catching."

The 6th inning in the Tigers' first doubleheader game against the Panthers Saturday may well go down as one of the highlights of the year.

Behind 8-6 in the bottom of the 5th following two big Asotin hits, the Lady Tigers decided it was time to play ball, and nine runs later they had almost twice the Panthers' score.

"I think we woke up and realized we needed to get out there," Tiger Samantha Moss said .

At the top of the 6th, Rochelle Oseth and Hafen scored base hits, and a precision hit from Hailey Goenen brought them in to even the score. But why stop there, the ladies must have asked themselves.

A hit by senior Megan Withers brought in Goenen for a third score to put the Tigers ahead, only boosting their appetite. A Wilson hit brought her to second and Withers to third. Another hit by Baker took her out of the game but brought in Withers to boost the margin to 10-8.

Now the rest of the team was ready to get into the action, with Katie Hofer, Taylor Moon and Moss loading the bases with two outs. A spectacular crash from Oseth brought them all in for three more points.

Another base hit from Hafen brought in Oseth herself, followed by a Goenen overhead hit which the Asotin infield missed, allowing Hafen a run to home plate before Goenen was caught for the last out. But by now, the score was 15-8.

"Once they're excited, they're good to go," Potts said. "Sometimes, it takes just one hit to get them going."

Tiger Rochelle Oseth bunts a pitch and takes off for first base during Saturday's game against Asotin.

Asotin managed to score twice more in the 6th and 7th innings, but it wasn't enough to turn the blue-and-red Tiger tide, and the scoring ended at 15-10.

The Panthers came much closer in the second game, which the Tigers won 4-3 thanks to solid defensive plays.

The Tigers scored first in the 1st inning. The second inning saw some deft base thefts from Hofer, but the Tiger wouldn't score again until the 5th and again in the 6th with a home run, putting WP ahead 4-1.

Asotin scored twice in the 6th, but some excellent defensive plays, including a high, over-the-head catch from Oseth, kept the Panthers from tying the game.

"We hit better in the first game, but we played better in the second," Potts said, noting her team had 12 errors in the first game. "We have to be able to do the little things."

The Tigers are now 4-1. They continue league play in Prescott, Saturday April 2 at 11:00am.