Red Raiders fall in back and forth battle
Casey McCarthy/Sun Tribune Jaxon Rocha comes home in the bottom of the first inning to score against West Valley for the Red Raiders in Othello.
Casey McCarthy/Sun Tribune Jonathan Ozuna waits for the pitch against West Valley on Wednesday in the final matchup of the series in Othello.
OTHELLO — In a run-filled battle that saw the lead change hands almost every inning, West Valley prevailed against Othello in the end, 9-7.
West Valley scored a pair of runs in the top of the first to go up early, before the Red Raiders responded to even the score in the bottom of the inning. Another run from the visitors put West Valley back up one in the second before Othello took their first lead in the bottom of the third, going up 4-3.
West Valley briefly retook the lead in the top of the next inning, scoring two runs, before Othello knocked in three runs to take a 7-5. The lead was short-lived as West Valley scored three runs in the next inning. Adding a run in the top of the seventh secured their victory as the Red Raiders were unable to claw back to tie up the score in the bottom of the inning.
Nathan Garza Jr. led the Red Raiders from the plate, going 2-3, with a pair of RBIs and scoring two runs as well. Othello knocked eight hits as a team, with just one error in the field. West Valley finished with seven hits as a team, with two errors on the day.
Othello sits at 14-12 on the season now. Red Raiders head coach Sonny Garza said after the game Wednesday afternoon that he felt his team played West Valley really well in three of their four games.
“We were right there with them for the most part,” Garza said. “I’m really happy with the efforts the kids had, and the way these kids played these last four games. It was a good series.”
The Red Raiders are off until next Monday when they will travel to Yakima to kick off their series against the Beetles.
WV 2 1 0 2 3 0 1 — 9
OTH 2 0 2 3 0 0 0 — 7