Othello splits games with Ephrata on the diamond
Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspapers Group - Othello first baseman Jay Rodriguez (9) tags out Ephrata runner Trent Kleyn as he tries to reach base after a bunt in the second game if Saturday's CWAC doubleheader.
Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspapers Group - Othello third baseman TJ Martinez throws across the diamond to throw out the runner at first base.
EPHRATA — The postseason is just around the corner and with the way the Central Washington Athletic Conference is shaking out, Ephrata and Othello just might see each other again on May 3 in a District 5/6 loser-out game to open the playoffs.
Jack Berryman hit a solo home run and the Tigers (11-6, 9-6 CWAC) took the opener of Saturday’s doubleheader 3-1 at Johnson-O’Brien Stadium. Huskies starter Abel Gomez had his best outing of the season, pitching into the seventh inning and holding Ephrata to just four hits in a 3-2 victory in the nightcap for the split.
Selah (15-2, 14-1), Ellensburg (15-1, 14-1) and East Valley (14-2, 13-3) will sort things out at the top in the final week of the regular season. Ephrata (11-6, 9-6), Othello (10-6, 8-6) and Quincy (7-10, 7-8) will determine who will host a playoff game, and more importantly, who will go against the No. 3 seed in the first round.
First-year Othello head coach Sonny Garza has his team in place with a home twinbill against Selah on to close out the regular season.
“The way I see it, it’s about finishing four or five, either hosting Ephrata or coming to their place for the playoffs,” Garza said. “We always want to be at home. They’re a good team, but we just have to worry about ourselves and make sure we’re playing our best baseball no matter who we come up against.”
Othello has a three-game home stand to finish the regular season, hosting Prosser on Tuesday and Selah on Saturday.
Othello 3, Ephrata 2
Gomez had good command of his stuff, scattering just four hits and overcoming four Huskies errors that threatened to blow the game up early when the Tigers scored two runs on two Huskies miscues in the first inning.
The Othello right-hander settled in and pitched into the seventh inning where he ran into the new pitch count; coming out after throwing 72 pitches.
“My location was good today. This was my best outing of the year, it felt really good.” Gomez said. “I knew going into the fifth I had was throwing strikes and I just had to let my defense do the work.”
Ephrata scored two runs in the bottom of the first and threatened to blow the game open early. But Othello exploded with three runs in the fifth.
Jaxon Rocha and Alfredo Carreno fueled the rally with back-to-back RBI singles. Josh Garza added a third consecutive single and Arcenio Martinez came up with a two-RBI double to give the Huskies a one-run lead, which held up for the split.
Ephrata 3, Othello 1
Othello drew first blood in the opener, breaking a scoreless tie in the fourth with a run. But Ephrata bounced back, taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth pushing two runs across the dish.
Berryman drove a solo home run some 375 feet between the green backdrop and the Senior Babe Ruth World Series sign to ice the game.
The Tigers threatened to score more in the sixth, but Huskies reliever TJ Martinez came in to put the fire out with the bases loaded.