Othello drops doubleheader to No. 1 seed Selah
Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspaper Group - Othello third baseman Sakiel Garza makes a play on a ball bunted down the line during Satruday's doubleheader at Huskies Field. The ball ended up going foul.
OTHELLO — How do you keep the intensity level up all the way to the end? That’s the $64 million question from the Basin to the Big’s and it’s the question first-year Othello head coach Sonny Garza needs to answer as his young Huskies head into the District 5-6 playoffs.
The Huskies (12-8, 10-8 CWAC) dropped a home doubleheader to defending 2A state champion and No. 1 seed Selah on the diamond Saturday.
Othello took a 3-1 lead on a two-out, 2-RBI single by Abel Gomez in the third inning of the opener, but the Vikings (18-2, 17-1) came back with the help of a solo shot by Carter Young to win 9-3. Selah used back-to-back doubles to score five runs in the top of the fifth to win the late game 9-2.
Ephrata (12-8, 10-1) split with Quincy (8-11, 9-9) on Saturday, so it will be another Othello-Ephrata matchup on Wednesday. No. 6 Quincy will face No. 3 East Valley in the first round.
“We have to find a way to stay up when we’re down and continue to ride that wave of energy we had early in the game,” Garza said. “When you’re playing good ball clubs, you’re not going to be winning every inning. We’re working on building that mentality, but it’s going to take time.”
Senior TJ Martinez, who started at third base and did a little relief pitching in both games, agreed.
“It’s been that way all year, we have so much energy in the first couple of innings. It’s always at the fifth or sixth inning that we always give up. If one guy struggles, then we all struggle,” said Martinez, who is one of seven seniors who played their final home game. “It’s a team thing, when one of us starts hitting, we all start hitting.
“But playing for Othello means something. Even before Sonny Garza was our coach, I always looked up to this guy. I mean he was the third baseman of the century. He knows the game and he’s our leader. When I put the uniform on, I want to compete like those guys that came before me. It’s all a mentality of who you look up to and that’s what he’s trying to do here.”
Selah coach Mike Archer said he sees a difference in the culture of Othello baseball and tips his hat to the first-year Huskies skipper.
“I was really impressed with Othello today. They always have talented guys and Sonny has done a great job coaching them,” Archer said. “He’s got some arms out there. I really liked the first pitcher (Abel Gomez).”
Gomez was one of four four-year players on the team playing their last home game.
“We came out hard in that first game and just fell apart,” he said. “I feel like when everybody is on their game and we’re talking we play really, really well. It means something to play for Othello. Everybody on this team knows that and we keep working to get better.”
Othello 9-5, Prosser 1-2
OTHELLO — Othello received quality outings from starters Abel Gomez and Sakiel Garza, sweeping Prosser 9-1 and 5-2 April 25.
Arcenio Martinez hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning of Game 2, providing some insurance. Josh Garza and T.J. Martinez had two hits each in the opener.