C.J. Garza picks up the no-hitter

OTHELLO — C.J. Garza got his first start on the mound for Othello and made the most of the situation.

Roger Hoell, head coach for the Huskies, threw the backup pitcher in the rotation to give his regulars a break in preparation for their rematch with Kiona-Benton on Saturday. Garza returned the favor with a no-hitter in a 14-0 win over Toppenish in five innings on Tuesday at Othello High School.

Garza faced one batter above the minimum and struck out eight in the win.

"We won and that is all I wanted," Garza said.

That's what Hoell wanted also as the Huskies have built a three-game winning streak and evened the record to 5-5 on the season. The key, Hoell said to the turnaround has been Othello's defense, which has given up only one error in the last three games.

That only error came in the fourth inning, breaking up Garza's perfect game after the right fielder dropped a routine pop fly.

Toppenish, who is winless on the season, didn't stand much of a chance against the bats of Othello, who came on strong from the beginning of the game. Eric Gomez singled and scored in the first inning off a Rudy Ochoa double to center field, a place Ochoa drove the ball three times, finishing the game 4-for-4 with four RBIs and a home run.

The Huskies put up 11 hits on the game, all in preparation for their rematch against the Bears on Saturday, who topped Othello 10-4 in their first meeting of the season. Against Toppenish, all Hoell wanted was quality at bats.

"Fundamental swinging," Hoell said. "I wanted them to start getting quality at bats."

Garza, who said he didn't get comfortable on the mound until the third inning, struck out six of the 10 batters faced over the final three innings and Ochoa made a defensive stop at first, robbing a basehit down the base line.

"I didn't even know it was a no-hitter until the last inning," Ochoa said.