Lady Huskies blast Ephrata

Othello hits six home runs in doubleheader

OTHELLO — The Othello Lady Huskies' Rachel Mohs led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, the first of six round-trippers Othello hit during there 18-0 and 12-1 victories over the Ephrata Lady Tigers Thursday. Othello had two grand slams against Ephrata and piled up 33 hits as they improved their record to 9-1 on the year.

It continues a streak of hot hitting by the Lady Huskies that has them in contention for yet another CWAC championship.

"It's the second week in a row we've hit multiple home runs," said Othello coach Rudy Ochoa.

The Lady Huskies took control of the first game early, using a pair of walks and a hit batsman to load the bases after Mohs' leadoff homer. Bebe Villegas then came to the plate and blasted a ball high over the center field fence that gave Othello a 5-0 lead before the Lady Huskies had recorded an out.

Villegas finished the first game 3 for 4 with six RBIs and three runs scored. As impressive as that performance was, it wasn't even the best Othello stat line from the game.

Nina Gonzalez turned in an eye-popping 3 for 3 game that included a 2-run home run in the second inning and a grand slam in the third. Gonzalez scored three times and batted in seven runs.

That alone was all the offense Othello needed, as Gonzalez also pitched a complete-game one hitter and struck out 12 Ephrata hitters.

While Ephrata just didn't have enough to hang with Othello over the course of a game, the Lady Tigers made some individual plays that impressed the home fans in Othello.

In the fourth inning of game one, Lauren Lynch robbed Oli Lopez of a base hit with a diving catch in left field. Holly Hubbard had another impressive catch in the third inning of the second game, backing up to the center field fence and leaping high in the air to rob Othello's Erica Wheeler of a home run.

Hubbard also had Ephrata's biggest offensive play of the game, leading off the fourth inning of game two with a triple to right. Hubbard scored on the next play when Holly Nelson grounded out to second base to pick up the RBI and make the score 4-1.

Despite Hubbard's big plays, Othello was just too powerful for the Lady Tigers in the second game.

Michelle Wheeler earned the victory for the Lady Huskies in the second game, allowing just two hits while striking out six batters in six innings of work.

Othello scored two runs in the first inning of game two, and while Ephrata was only down 5-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Lady Huskies scored four runs in the fifth inning to end any hopes of an Ephrata upset.

The doubleheader ended the way it began; off the bat of Mohs. The Othello leadoff hitter drove in a pair of runs in the sixth inning to make the score 12-1 and put an end to the contest.

Othello, which entered Thursday tied for second in the CWAC behind undefeated Selah, will need their offense to continue firing on all cylinders if they hope to reach the state tournament for the 12th straight season.

"The top four or five are real competitive," said Ochoa of the teams in the CWAC. This season, only three teams from the conference will earn berths to the state tournament, leaving one very talented softball club disappointed at year's end.

The Lady Tigers, who dropped to 7-7 in CWAC play with Thursday's losses, currently reside in fifth place in the league standings.