Othello baseball hopes to be competitive in tough CWAC league
Senior Anthony Ruiz returns at first base as part of an experienced infield to lead the 2016 Othello Huskie baseball squad.
OTHELLO — The usual suspects appear to be the baseball teams to beat in the CWAC this spring.
The Selah Vikings lost to Centralia in the 2A state championship game last year and the Ellensburg Bulldogs beat Lake Washington to win the title the previous year. Both are expected to be in the hunt for the league title again this year.
“You have Selah, Ellensburg, East Valley and Ephrata,” Othello head coach Larry Gonzalez said. “So it is going to be a battle, but for the most part, I think we’ll compete.”
An experienced infield will lead the way for the Huskies: Anthony Ruiz returns at first, T. J. Martinez at third and Alix Garcia at shortstop. Cameron Valdez is expected to takeover at second base; Abel Gomez, Edgar Martinez and Alfredo Carreno are competing for time behind the plate.
None of the outfield starters from last year return. Starting center fielder Asaph Garza and right fielder Melvin Garza graduated and left fielder Kyler Villarreal elected to turn out for tennis.
E.J. Valdez, Arsenio Martinez, Jay Rodriguez and Gage Pruneda are among the prospects to fill the outfield positions. Oscar Munoz will be the ace on the mound with Jonathan Garza, Abel Gomez and Sakiel Garza seeing action in the pitching rotation.
The Huskies finished 10-8 in league the last two years. Selah won the CWAC (17-1) with East Valley and Ellensburg at 14-4 tied for second and third.
Othello, Ephrata and Quincy all finished 10-8 and tied for fourth, fifth and sixth. The Huskies finished in sixth place in 2014 with a 10-8 record.
Othello will get an early indication of how well they stack up in the league this year when they host the Selah Vikings for a doubleheader on March 19.