Lady Huskies bring home championship title

SELAH - The Othello Lady Huskies ended their near perfect season on Saturday as they were crowned WIAA 2A Girls Fastpitch Softball Champions.

The 26-1 Huskies slugged their way to the championship by shutting out all four teams they faced in a hotly-contested 2A battle.

Game one against Cedar Crest was a classic battle with the score tied 0-0 going into the bottom of the seventh inning when Othello's Eden Garza slugged a single, scoring Breanna Montemayor for a 1-0 win.

Othello made one run on five hits and no errors. Cedar Crest made no runs on one hit and no errors. Othello pitcher Nina Gonzalez allowed one hit while striking out 12 Cedar Crest batters.

In game two Othello faced River Ridge, scoring two runs in the third inning and a pair of runs off Michelle Wheeler's shot over the left field fence.

Gonzalez allowed three hits, striking out 12 in their 4-0 victory. Alexis Montemayor was 2-for-3 with a double and BiBi Villeagas had the game-winning home run.

In the semi-final matchup against Centralia, the Lady Huskies battled until the top

of the seventh inning before scoring a single run, sealing Centralia's fate.

Gonzalez struck out nine and allowed only three hits.

The championship game pitted powerhouse Burlington Edison against the Huskies in a game for all the marbles. The Huskies scored a run in each of the first three innings and that was all that was needed to seal Burlington Edison's fate.

Burlington Edison made no runs, with one hit and no errors. The Huskies scored three runs on nine hits and one error.

Gonzalez totaled eight hits and 44 batters on the day in the two-day tournament.

It was season in which the team "came together as a family," Othello's center fielder Kylee Mollotte said. Mollotte said the team had "one goal - we wanted it, and were ready to do it."

Pitcher Nina Gonzalez finished the season 15-0, allowing only one run the entire season.

"This was one of the best behaved teams I have ever had the pleasure of coaching," Othello coach Rudy Ochoa said. "They played well together and treated each other with respect and it didn't matter if they were seniors or freshmen. That and the fact that even though they had played together for years, they were still willing to learn something new to better themselves. I am very proud to have been associated with all the players on this team."