Othello slides past Grandview

OTHELLO — The Huskies broke open a 3-2 game in the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday afternoon on their way to a 7-2 victory over Grandview in the quarterfinals of the district softball tournament.

Othello junior starting pitcher Eden Garza earned the victory for the Huskies who advanced to the district semifinals with the victory.

The Huskies capitalized on a trio of double plays throughout the contest, cutting three Grandview innings short for Garza, to earn the victory.

Othello head coach Rudy Ochoa said Garza performed well.

“I thought she pitched pretty well,” he said. “We had a few lapses behind her.”

After playing a tight game with Grandview for four and a half innings Thursday afternoon, Othello rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding 6-2 lead over the Greyhounds.

With Othello holding a slim 3-2 advantage to start the fifth, Garza singled in a run and the Huskies took a 4-2 lead.

Garza moved to third on an infield single before catcher Alyssa Martinez knocked Garza in for a 5-2 lead.

Junior center fielder Kylee Mollotte singled in the third Othello run of the inning and the Huskies headed into the top of the sixth with a four-run advantage.

The Huskies were able to adjust at the plate to start the fifth, Ochoa said.

“We finally started waiting for the ball,” he said.

Garza kept the Greyhounds off the scoreboard for the final four innings and the Huskies added another run in the sixth to claim the 7-2 victory.

Although Garza managed to earn the win for the Huskies, she found herself in trouble at times.

In the top of the third inning, Grandview capitalized on a pair of Othello errors to take a 2-1 lead and the Greyhounds loaded the bases and two outs. Grandview attempted to surprise the Huskies with a two-out bunt, but Garza read the play and tagged out the runner before any further damage could have been done.

After the Huskies rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the third, Grandview again threatened in the fourth. With a runner on second base and one out, Grandview drove a pitch from Garza into deep right field.

As the ball sailed through the sky, Othello senior right fielder Jordan McCourtie retreated. She read the ball’s motion in the air and caught the it while running away from the infield for the second out. The Grandview base runner took off from second base prior to McCourtie’s catch and the Othello senior fired the ball to second base for an inning-ending double play.

Ochoa said McCourtie played well in her final home game.

“This was her last home game,” he said. “She played beautifully today.”

Othello assistant and third base coach Mike Jensen said McCourtie has performed well  the past few days.

“She had her best week at practice so far,” he said.

While the Huskies poured it on late, they found themselves trailing in the bottom of the third inning when Garza stepped up to the plate. Garza took a couple of pitches before driving a Grandview pitch into deep center field with a runner on first to set her teammates up with runners on second and third.

Miranda Martinez sacrificed Montemayor in from third base to tie the game at 2-2 and Alyssa Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field to score Garza, giving Othello their first lead of the contest.

With the win over Grandview, the Othello Huskies moved into the district semifinals where they well meet the Selah Vikings. The Vikings swept the Huskies in their season finale last week and Othello is aware of Selah’s ability on the diamond, Ochoa said.

“Selah is no slouch,” he said. “We know that. We’ve been preparing all week.”

Othello is just one win away from qualifying for the state softball tournament for the 14th consecutive season.