Stanley’s walk-off hit gives Mavs 8-7 win over Othello

EAST WENATCHEE – The final inning in Saturday’s fastpitch contest between Moses Lake and Othello saw two lead changes, including the walk-off hit by Maverick senior Ali Stanley that gave her team an 8-7 win over the Huskies.

“It’s something special when you get put in position to win the game,” Stanley said. “You try to settle yourself down because it’s a tie game in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on. You just try to settle down and take what you can get.”

Stanley, who didn’t start the game due to an injury and was pinch-hitting, brought junior Kendall Reffett home and clinched the comeback win for Moses Lake.

“I don’t think a lot of people outside the fence, once we were down three, thought we had a shot,” Moses Lake Head Coach Mike Hofheins said. “But everybody inside our dugout believed and they just kept playing. Good things happen when you keep fighting.”

Tied at four in the top of the seventh, Othello senior Camryn McDonald hit a two-run home run to right field that put the Huskies up 6-4. Two at-bats later, junior Persayis Garza sent sophomore Emi Pruneda home on an RBI double to give Othello a 7-4 lead.

“We pretty much thought it was over at that point,” Othello Head Coach Rudy Ochoa said. “The way (Moses Lake) was acting, they thought it was over too. Once they started getting people on, that changes fast. Momentum is a domino effect.”

After a pop-out to start the bottom of the seventh inning, Moses Lake senior Katelyn Kriete and junior Mikayla Schwartz both recorded hits to get on base. Senior Jadelyn Balderas sent Kriete home on an RBI single to left field. Reffett then doubled, sending home two Maverick base runners to tie the game at seven.

“Othello’s a great team, they’re well-coached, so you know you’re going to have to take advantage of the few opportunities you have,” Hofheins said. “I think we did that. We put the ball in play, we played pretty good defense. When two pretty good teams get together, it’s usually going to be one or two plays that make the difference.”

Stanley’s fly ball to deep left field was lost in the sun, and Reffett took the opportunity to score and give Moses Lake the win.

“We had a lot of no-quit in us today,” Hofheins said. “I’m super proud of the way they just kept competing for seven full innings.”

“It was full adrenaline,” Moses Lake senior Annalyse Hernandez said of the dugout environment. “Energy was high, we were so excited. We love playing against Othello. It’s always been a competition.”

The Huskies took the first lead of the game in the first inning on a bunt by Pruneda that sent home junior Amarie Guzman. Othello took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning when junior Miccaela Valdez and McDonald took advantage of an error to score. The Mavericks got their first two runs of the day on an RBI single by Kriete and a fielder’s choice where Stanley scored in the third inning.

“This group is such a fun group to play with because, no matter if we’re losing or not, our energy’s still going to be at the same level because we’re that competitive as a team,” Stanley said. “We never let ourselves get down.”

After another Huskie run on a sacrifice fly by McDonald, Moses Lake tied up the game on a two-run home run by Hernandez. The senior also pitched from the third inning on for Moses Lake.

“I was missing that ball by millimeters, and I was so hungry to hit,” Hernandez said. “I stepped into the box with confidence. Seeing my team all huddled up and excited, and knowing that I tied up the game – it’s a family that you’re walking into.”

Moses Lake is now 8-1 this season after the walk-off win.

“This is the kind of win that springboards a team into the next phase of the season and really gets on a roll,” Hofheins said. “We need to use that. We need to use this momentum, stay humble, keep working and keep getting better.”

The loss was the first of the 2023 season for Othello, who is now 6-2 after falling to Eastmont 14-5 in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday.

“This is supposed to be a pretty good, quality team here, so we’re hoping that we can come back and play the way we usually play,” Ochoa said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Score

Moses Lake 0-0-2-0-0-2-4: 8

Othello 1-0-2-0-1-0-3: 7