Comeback win!

OTHELLO – Down 2-1 to Deer Park in the bottom of the sixth inning, the Othello bats came alive as the Huskies were able to ring off six runs in seven at-bats and earn a 7-2 win over the Stags.

“We got a couple bounces; a couple things went our way,” Head Coach Sonny Garza said. “It’s good to see that. The excitement in the dugout; it was good for the kids.”

Freshman Trey Tovar’s two-RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning gave Othello the lead, but it was just the first two of the six Huskie runs scored in the inning.

“I wasn’t focused on (the score), I was just focused on hitting the ball and getting it in play,” Tovar said.

Sophomore Carmine Garza scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-2, followed by an RBI single by sophomore Kal-El Ozuna. Senior Ezra Gonzalez batted in a run on a single two at-bats later, and junior Xzyan Martinez batted in the game’s final run to give Othello a 7-2 win.

“They got a couple hits and then confidence started growing,” Sonny Garza said. “That’s the game of baseball. Hits are contagious, and if a couple of guys string together hits together, then all of a sudden their buddies see that they got a hit? Then they want to join in on the fun.”

The energy was contagious in the dugout, as eight of the first nine Othello batters got on base to begin the sixth inning.

“All the energy from the first hit just got to us all,” freshman R. Jay Garza said. “We all wanted a little piece of that, so we all strived to hit the ball and put the ball in play.”

Deer Park failed to add on any runs in the top of the seventh inning, and Othello left with its third-straight win.

“When Othello baseball gets going, it’s hard to stop,” senior Eliez Gutierrez said. “When those sticks get going, it’s fun.”

Earlier in the contest, sophomore Mario Salazar III gave Othello a 1-0 lead on an RBI single in the top of the first inning, but Deer Park answered the next inning to tie the game at one. In the top of the fifth inning, the Stags scored to take a 2-1 lead over the Huskies.

The Deer Park lead was nearly 3-1, but a heave from Gutierrez in the outfield to Gonzalez at home plate stopped the Stags from scoring.

“I thought we were going to get the routine out in the infield, but I just did the normal routine backup and chopped my feet,” Gutierrez said. “Threw the ball, got the out.”

The Huskies, now 4-2 on the season, will now enter the teeth of Central Washington Athletic Conference play this weekend as they head to Ellensburg for a doubleheader on Saturday.

“It’s pretty good to get the wins during the week to build momentum going into the weekends, especially knowing we have Ellensburg this weekend,” Sonny Garza said. “We’re getting to the meat of our schedule where we’re going to be facing tougher teams.”

First pitch between the Huskies and Bulldogs is at 11 a.m. in Ellensburg.

“We’re going to keep doing the same thing that we’ve been doing,” Tovar said. “Improving at practice and trying to get better.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com. Email your game photos to him for consideration for publication.

Box Score

Deer Park 0-1-0-0-1-0-0: 2

Othello 1-0-0-0-0-6-0: 7