Columbia Basin Youth Baseball would like to welcome you to the city of Ephrata, home to the 2017 Babe Ruth 16-18 World Series. Ephrata (pronounced Ee-fray-tuh) is a short drive off Interstate 90, situated near the geographical center of the state of Washington, just a few hours from both Seattle and Spokane.

The site for the tournament is Johnson-O’Brien Stadium, located at Ephrata High School. It is considered by many to be one of the finest high school baseball facilities in the state of Washington, and has been the center of much of the baseball success in the Columbia Basin. Ephrata High School’s baseball tradition runs deep, as shown by seventy-one league, district, regional and state championships won by the Ephrata Tigers since 1970. The JOB was also the site of the 2011, 2014 and 2016. Senior Babe Ruth World Series tournaments, and has hosted many Babe Ruth state and regional tournament in the last twenty years – the host of the Senior Babe Ruth World Series in 2017.

Ephrata is the gateway to the Columbia Basin. There are a tremendous amount of fun and exciting activities going on at all times in the Basin area, and Ephrata offers many of those activities right here, such as the Sage ‘n Sun Festival in June, Basin Summer Sounds music festival in July, and Miracle on Main Street holiday celebration in December.

Located in Ephrata, a walk through the past can be found at the Grant County Historical Museum and Village. Situated on 3.75 acres, the museum has a complex of buildings, historic settings, colorful displays and objects that will fascinate even the youngest in your family. The museum provides you with the opportunity to actually enter the buildings and experience what the pioneer life of a bygone era was all about. Also, see the Village come to life at the annual Living Museum weekend during the first part of June.

Ephrata is also a short drive from many of the main attractions of the Columbia Basin, including:

*The Gorge Amphitheatre is a 20,000-seat concert venue located above the Columbia River gorge in George, Washington. Administered by LiveNation, it is considered one of the premier and most scenic concert locations in North America and the world.

*Grand Coulee Dam is truly magnificent to behold. Built from 1933 to 1975, it is 550 feet tall, from the 500 foot wide polished granite base, to the 30-foot wide crest which supports a paved two lane road, and nearly one mile long. During the summer months, Grand Coulee offers free Laser Light Shows that are projected on the dam, telling the story of how and why the Grand Coulee Dam came to be built!

On behalf of the 2017 World Series organizing committee in Ephrata, we invite you to join us in August for not only the best of senior-level baseball, but to see one of the most beautiful areas in the northwest. For more information, contact Grant County Tourism at (509) 754-2011 ext. 331, or find them online at www.tourgrantcounty.com. And welcome to Ephrata -- we’re glad you’re here.

2017 Babe Ruth Baseball 16-18 World Series Awards