Othello Baseball bounced out of postseason play
Rodney Harwood/Hagadone Newspaper Group - Othello runner Arcenio Martinez beats the throw to the plate for the score during the CWAC District 5-6 game against Quincy on May 9.
CHENEY — Twice now; once during the CWAC playoffs and then at the GNL crossover game, the Othello Huskies moved into the later stages of the game with a lead, and just couldn’t quite get over the top.
Othello took a lead into the fifth in the semifinals against No. 1 Selah, before bowing out. On Saturday in the GNL crossover game, they took a one-run lead into the fourth inning, but the Blackhawks put together back-to-back doubles and a triple in succession to score two runs and eliminate the Huskies 2-1.
“The guys really grew as individuals from the first couple of weeks of the season,” first-year head coach Sonny Garza said. “They were able to get better as the season progressed, which is what you need to do. This was our first trip to the crossover game since 2009. The kids really worked hard all year and bought into what we’re showing them to get back to a winning tradition.”
TJ Martinez reached in the second inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by AJ Pruneda to give the Huskies the early lead.
For EJ Martinez, Sakiel Garza, Arcenio Martinez, Alfredo Carreno, TJ Martinez and Abel Gomez, it was their final high school game.
Othello 11, Quincy 6
OTHELLO — The No. 5 Huskies baseball team advanced to the crossover game for the first time since 2009 with an 11-6 victory over No. 6 Quincy on May 9 at Huskies Field.
Arcenio Martinez doubled twice in his first two at-bats and finished 2-for-5. He is just one of six seniors on the team, which is starting to reshape the baseball culture in Othello.
“Knowing Othello hasn’t been to the crossover game since 2009, it sounds amazing that we broke through,” Martinez said. “It’s our dream to go to state and make it to Yakima and now we’re one game from getting there.”
The Jacks (11-13) took a 2-1 lead into the third, scoring the go-ahead run when Doug Tobin doubled and scored on a single by Marco Cisneros. Othello answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-2 lead. The rally included Martinez’s second double of the day and a single by Gomez.
“We were working to keep the ball low against him, because we knew he was capable of hitting one out,” Carreno said. “We set him up, and then got him with a fastball. This is really exciting to be playing on this team and now we’re moving on.”