Huskies split with Bulldogs

OTHELLO — Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) softball titans clashed Tuesday afternoon in Othello when the Huskies hosted the Ellensburg Bulldogs.

Conference supremacy was on the line at Othello High School when the Bulldogs and the Huskies squared off with first place in the CWAC at stake.

After six innings into game one of the doubleheader, the Bulldogs and the Huskies found themselves knotted at 1-1 heading into the top of the seventh.

Ellensburg threatened to take the lead in the top of the seventh, but Othello pitcher Julyssa McKertie and the Huskies stood strong to deny the Bulldogs an opportunity to take the lead late in game one.

“We had to hold them,” McKertie said. “I pitched well so they couldn’t score.”

After denying the Bulldogs a run in the top of the seventh, the defending Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2A state champions went to work.

Othello managed to get a runner on in the top of the seventh and after a single and a throwing error by Ellensburg, the Huskies found themselves with a runner on third with no outs.

With the game on the line, Othello head coach Rudy Ochoa put on a suicide squeeze, but the Ellensburg defense was ready for it, forcing the runner out at home.

Following her solid pitching performance in the seventh, McKertie said she believed in her teammates.

“I knew we could do it,” she said.

After Ellensburg managed to get the first and second outs of the inning, Othello was down to their final chance in the seventh. With a runner in scoring position, Ochoa said he had confidence in his team.

“When we had a runner on third with no outs, I thought we were going to get it,” he said.

With two outs and runners on second and third, Othello’s Jordan McCourtie singled up the middle, scoring Jasmine Gallardo from third to give the Huskies a 2-1 victory.

After Othello knocked off Ellensburg, McKertie said she knew her team could win.

“I was really happy,” she said. “It was a really good game. I knew we could beat them.”

Following the 2-1 victory in game one, the Huskies and the Bulldogs battled in the second game of the doubleheader.

Othello got on the scoreboard first when junior Kylee Mollotte reached after a walk and came around to score for the Huskies.

Ellensburg came back with a pair of runs in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead before the Huskies rallied in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2.

With a series split on the line for Ellensburg, the Bulldogs scored three runs in the top of the seventh of game two to avenge their game one loss. Although Ellensburg came back to win game two, Ochoa said his team played well Wednesday.

“We are a very young team this year,” he said. “I told them that we made a few mistakes, but as a whole, we played very well.”