Huskies suffer loss in district tournament
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month AGO
Xzyyvn Martinez (21) eyes the pitcher before his next throw. The Othello Huskies suffered a 5-1 loss to Ellensburg Bulldogs at home in the District 5 2A semifinals.
MIKE MAYNARD/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
After fielding a ground ball, the Huskies’ Aaden Montes (22) throws it to first base.
The Othello Huskies Head Coach Sonny Garza watches on as Aiden Garza (2) throws his next pitch against the Ellensburg Bulldogs on Saturday.
Trey Tovar (6) steps up to bat for the Othello Huskies during their district tournament game on Saturday.
OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies (19-4) suffered a 5-1 loss at home to the Ellensburg Bulldogs in the semifinals of the District 5 2A tournament Saturday.
“We got to be more aggressive at the plate and put the ball in play,” Head Coach Sonny Garza said. “That's ultimately what it comes down to... put the ball in play and make plays.”
It was a defensive battle from the start, both teams going scoreless through the first five innings. However, pitching struggles opened the door for Ellensburg to execute multiple line drives and score five runs. Despite Quade Gonzalez scoring a home run in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs would hold on the rest of the game to upset the Huskies.
“There are always big moments in the game that sway towards your side or sway towards their side, and when we were in those moments today, it just seemed like we never got it going for us. It was always for them,” Garza said. “We were doing something that wasn't helping us, or we were doing something that was helping them. In those moments, we have to be better to sway momentum toward us.”
Aiden Garza started on the pitching mound for the Huskies and got off to a promising start. Before the Bulldogs five run inning in the top of the sixth, he allowed zero runs and struck out for batters.
“It was a really well pitched game. Besides that (sixth) inning, you take that inning out Aiden threw well, he had that rough inning where they were kind of aggressive, and they put the ball in play, and the ball seems to find holes (in the outfield). When you swing and you put it in play enough times, the ball will find holes, but you have to put it in play to start, and eventually it'll find holes. That's kind of what they did,” said Garza.
The Huskies offense had promising moments early in the game, including a double play by Aaden Montes. It was the first of two hits he earned while at bat. However, Othello struggled to get any more momentum on offense through the top of the sixth.
After dropping five runs in the top of the sixth, the Huskies responded immediately with a homer by Gonzalez to open their offensive outing.
“It's great to see him do that and try to get our dugout and our guys back into it. Great to see that from a captain and a guy who's done that for us all year,” Garza said.
However, the Bulldogs defense did enough to prevent another run the rest of the game to seal the win.
With the loss, the Huskies can still punch their ticket to the state tournament later this month. They will host third seeded East Valley at home on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. This time the stakes are higher as it is win or go home for both teams. After taking a brief pause, Garza explained what the Huskies need heading into that game.
“High momentum... has got to be high. Every situation's got to be laser focused, and we got to execute,” he said.
BOX SCORE:
EBRG: 0-0-0-0-0-5-0: 5
OTHL: 0-0-0-0-0-1-0: 1
After fielding a ground ball, the Huskies’ Aaden Montes (22) throws it to first base.
The Othello Huskies Head Coach Sonny Garza watches on as Aiden Garza (2) throws his next pitch against the Ellensburg Bulldogs on Saturday.
Trey Tovar (6) steps up to bat for the Othello Huskies during their district tournament game on Saturday.ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Mavericks’ Borchert to continue softball in college
MOSES LAKE — The Mavericks’ Amilia Borchert has committed to St. Cloud State University to join the Huskies softball program, she said. Though the Minnesota-based school is far from home, she has some connections there that will help her transition. “I’ve got a lot of family there,” Borchert said. “They also have the major I’m looking for; they have mass communications/sports broadcasting which is what I really want to do.” Her interest in this field began developing at a young age, she said.
Vikings volleyball hosting day camp for local athletes
MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings volleyball program is hosting a day camp on June 26 for local Basin high school athletes. Head Coach Lindsey Linthicum said this is a great opportunity for these athletes to get a feel for college volleyball. “I will do a questionnaire at the end of the camp that gives the girls an opportunity to say, ‘How do you run a camp or not camp? How do you run a program, what are my best options if I am looking into a college?’ and things like that,” she said. “If they have the idea of wanting to do something like that, it really helps them to get the gears going, so they can start doing their own research and figure out what works best for them.”
From World Cup call-ups to NCAA breakthroughs, local colleges make news
MOSES LAKE — Even when the academic calendar reaches its end, college athletics continue their work into the summer. See below some of the latest headlines from local Washington colleges.