Blackhawks sweep Ephrata in season opener

Sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Not that local high schools’ sports teams are experiencing desperate times, but with snow blanketing most playing surfaces, unusual measures have been required to get some competition going. Such was the case for Cheney High School’s baseball team.

The Blackhawks have had games at Sunnyside and Quincy — two schools that can get in early March competition thanks to being in typically drier climates — postponed due to field conditions, and a home contest with Medical Lake similarly delayed. Facing another postponement of a doubleheader with 2A Ephrata, officials and coaches at both schools worked to arrange an alternative playing location — west of the Cascade Mountains.

The Blackhawks and Bulldogs squared off on the diamond at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, about a half hour east of Seattle off Interstate 90. Not only was the field snow-free, but it was also in good condition, thanks to a construction feature typical of most all Western Washington schools.

“Everybody over there plays on Astroturf,” Cheney head coach Rob Beamer said.

The set up worked for the Blackhawks, who open the season 2-0 thanks to a sweep of the Bulldogs, playing as the home team away from home.

Cheney got a complete-game, two-hit shutout from Julian Chabot in its 4-0 game one win. The senior walked one and struck out 14 in going the distance for the win, coming within a couple of outs of a no-hitter as both of Ephrata’s hits came in the seventh inning.

“Everybody over there plays on Astroturf”

Cheney head coach Rob Beamer

The Blackhawks got all four of their runs in the third inning, half coming on Nick Berman’s two-RBI single. Chabot and Koby Holt also had RBIs.

Game two was a more offensive affair, with Cheney breaking a 4-4 tie with one run in the fifth inning. The Blackhawks played add on after that, scoring on in the sixth and two more in the seventh to hang on for an 8-6 victory.

Holt and Kyle Peabody keyed Cheney’s offense. Holt was 2 for 4 with a pair of solo home runs while Peabody went 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. The Blackhawks also benefited in the scoring column from six Ephrata errors.

Junior Peyton McPherson got the win on the mound, coming on with two outs in the fourth inning in relief of starter Devin Cook. McPherson gave up two runs on five hits, struck out three and walked none while Cook gave up four runs on six hits, struck out three and walked three.

With the weather continuing to warm up, and the local snowpack receding, Cheney hopes to get in three games this week. The Blackhawks were scheduled to travel to Nine Mile Falls on Wednesday, March 20, for a single non-league game with Lakeside of the Northeast A League.

Cheney is scheduled to open Great Northern League play this Saturday by hosting West Valley in a doubleheader. Game one is at noon with game two to follow at approximately 2 p.m.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.