Othello rallies past Ephrata

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies overcame a late deficit Tuesday afternoon against visiting Ephrata to remain in second place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) baseball standings.

With the Huskies trailing 6-4 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Othello’s Lee Gomez came to the plate with two runners on for the Huskies.

After working the count against Ephrata pitcher Tyson Hubbard, Gomez swung the bat and sent a rocket over the left field fence to give the Huskies a 7-6 advantage.

The Huskies would hold on for the victory and Othello head coach Larry Gonzalez said he was proud to see his team rally from behind to knock of Ephrata.

“I was waiting for our team to show up like that,” he said of the win. “The situations came for us today. When you play a good team like Ephrata you have to capitalize on your opportunities.”

After the Huskies retired Mason Lotz in the top of the seventh inning, the Tigers managed to load the bases with one out.

With the game and second place in the CWAC at stake, Gonzalez brought in senior Marc Garza to close the game for the Huskies.

Marc Garza got off to a fast start when he struck out Ephrata’s Bryce Todd to give the Huskies their second out of the inning.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Ephrata senior left fielder Brett Robinson stepped up to the plate for the Tigers.

Robinson got a hold of a Marc Garza fastball and sent it screaming into the gap between right field and center field.

Othello senior right fielder Jakob Scott read the ball off of Robinson’s bat and the right fielder pursued.

As Scott set his foot to make the game-ending catch, he slipped and began to fall to the outfield grass. Scott maintained his composure and was able to catch the ball as he fell the grass to secure the 7-6 victory for the Huskies.

Gonzalez said he was confident his senior right fielder would make the catch when Robinson hit the ball to right field.

“I knew he could make that (catch),” he said.

After Ephrata scored in the top of the third inning to tie the game 1-1, Othello’s Ric Garza scored on an Ephrata error in the bottom of the third to give Othello a 2-1 lead.

Following Ric Garza’s run in the bottom of the third, Marc Garza hit a ground-rule double to deep center field to score two Huskies and Othello took a 4-1 lead into the top of the fourth.

Ephrata rallied in the top of the sixth inning when Hubbard led off the inning with a double. Ephrata loaded the bases and the Tigers pulled within a run of Othello at 4-3 when Othello pitcher Mike Garza walked in Ephrata’s Mason Lotz.

Todd then hit into a fielder’s choice to tie the game 4-4 before Ephrata loaded the bases again in the top of the sixth.

Ephrata senior shortstop Eric Tinnell walked to give Ephrata the lead and Hubbard singled in the fifth Ephrata run of the inning for a 6-4 Ephrata advantage.

Ephrata head coach Jason Laugen said both Ephrata and Othello had their opportunities to clinch Tuesday’s contest.

“We had our opportunities,” he said. “One big hit breaks it open. They could have broken it open too.”

After Ephrata claimed the 6-4 lead in the top of the sixth, Hubbard retired the first two batters of the inning before Othello center fielder Devon Lind walked.

Ric Garza reached base when he was hit with a Hubbard pitch, setting the table for Gomez’s game winner.

Gonzalez said he had confidence in his team trailing late with two outs in the contest.

“I have always told our guys to not hang their heads,” he said. “Good things can come for us with two outs.”

Othello will return to the diamond Saturday when they host the Ellensburg Bulldogs at 11 a.m. in a CWAC doubleheader.

Ephrata returns to action Saturday when they host Wapato at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium in Ephrata. The first pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.