Inconsistent play haunts Othello at State tournament

SELAH — Othello leadoff hitter Cayleen Garza turned on a 2-2 fastball in the bottom of the seventh and drove it deep. It was one of those rubber-neck moments for Tumwater pitcher Savannah Owen. By the time she located it, the ball had cleared the left-center field fence by 20 feet.

The Huskies Nation of friends of family in the stands clapped politely as the dugout filed onto the field to welcome the Othello senior as she rounded the bases, knowing all too well that if this had happened the inning before it would have been a defining moment. But they went down swinging.

Saturday’s 9-4 loss to Tumwater in the consolation bracket of the 2A state softball championships eliminated the defending state champions, who were trying to slug their way back to the third-place game after dropping the tournament opener on Friday.

“As a whole, I thought we played really well for the tournament. But this game, we fell apart,” Othello coach Rudy Ochoa said. “We played with a lot of heart. Nikki (Dominique Martinez) pitched her heart out. In the end she was pitching on fumes. I think we just ran out of gas.”

The Huskies (2-2) trailed the entire game on Saturday. They closed to 3-2 in the fifth. Third base coach Rudy Ochoa II tried to force the issue on an aggressive move, waving Garza around with a chance to tie it, but she was thrown out at the plate when the Tumwater defense responded with the perfect relay.

The Thunderbirds (3-2) bumped it back up to a two-run lead in the sixth when Sawyer Vessey drove in Ellany Jelcick, who had drawn a one-out walk.

But the Huskies made one more run in the bottom half of the sixth when Audisey Sauceda banged a one-out triple down the right-field line and scored on an RBI single by Janissa Garza to make it a one-run game one more time. Kaylee Martinez worked a two-out walk off Owen, who was showing signs of vulnerability.

The Huskies had the tying run on second and the potential game-winner at first base. Ochoa found success earlier in the postseason when he shuffled his order for the crossover game, moving his slapper, Velazquez, down to the ninth spot to give momentum on the bottom getting back to the top of the order. Velazquez, one of five seniors playing in her last game, made great contact on a stinger back up the middle, but Owen made what proved to be the game-saver when she came up the ball and threw out Velazquez, leaving Garza standing in the on-deck circle. Garza, of course, hit the solo home run the following inning, leaving the Huskies frustrated at what could have been.

“It seemed like we were always down during the tournament and we were able to fight our way back. Things just didn’t work out this time,” said Garza, who finished with two home runs for the weekend. “I’m a little sad to see it end. Last season, we had eight seniors graduate, so we had to come together this year with a bunch of people that hadn’t played together before. To come this far shows how hard we’ve worked.”

For Mariah Deleon, who’s headed to Western Oregon University, Dominique Martinez, who’s on her way to the University of Hawaii, and Nikki Velazquez, Cayleen Garza and Kaylee Martinez, it was the last time in red and black.

“I think we represented Othello well this weekend. We came out strong and played with trust in each other,” said junior Audisey Sauceda. “We knew we had a chance in every game. Even in this game, it feels like we went down swinging.”

Othello 8, White River 6

Garza had a two-run home run in the second and the Huskies scored three runs in the top of the sixth to advance to the second day of the tournament. Martinez had a three-run double in the sixth inning barrage.

Othello 6, Ridgefield 3

The Huskies exploded with three runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth to break a tied game. They had five consecutive hits, including an RBI double by Deleon. Martinez, Audisey Sauceda and Janissa Garza all drove in a run.

Port Angeles 1, Othello 0

Port Angeles scored the lone run in the fourth inning and rode a strong pitching performance by Nizhoni Wheeler, who struck out 13 and allowed just two hits. Martinez matched her spectacular performance pitch-for-pitch, striking out nine, walking two and scattering five hits.

Audisey Sauceda came close to giving the Huskies the lead in the seventh when she drove a towering shot to the right field fence, but the ball was caught at the warning track for the final out.

State Champion

W.F. West defeated Port Angeles 5-1 to claim the state championship. Ellensburg beat Selah 9-4 to win the game for third place.