Red Raiders fall to Walla Walla at districts

YAKIMA — The Othello Red Raiders opened the American Legion AA Area 4 district tournament on Friday night in Yakima against Walla Walla, falling 14-6 to the Bruins after Walla Walla put up an eight-run bottom of the fifth inning.

The game played out similarly to Tuesday’s game, also against Walla Walla, where the Bruins scored nine runs in the top of the third inning, winning 14-6.

“We had it going for a few innings, and we had one bad inning again, just like Tuesday,” head coach Sonny Garza said. “It’s tough to come back from something like that.”

Othello took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning on Friday, as third baseman Noah Ozuna scored on a Walla Walla error and center fielder Julian Ruiz scored off a sacrifice fly by pitcher Kal-El Ozuna.

Walla Walla later tied the game at three, to which the Red Raiders responded with a three-run top of the fourth inning, featuring RBI by shortstop Sonny Salazar and catcher Garrett Weyns.

“Guys capitalized on a few of those errors, and then we got some key hits, (that’s) really what was big,” Garza said. “It’s good to see some of those guys — we had a couple new kids in that are young, and it was good to see them in certain roles and getting some big hits for us.”

Walla Walla once again tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, making it a 6-6 ballgame, before scoring eight runs off of seven hits in the bottom of the fifth. Othello also committed two errors in the inning, leading to one Walla Walla run.

“We were fighting, fighting, fighting, and then you have a tough inning like that — allow them to throw up a crooked number — then all of a sudden, it’s tough to dig yourself out of a hole like that,” Garza said. “It was tough.”

Salazar and first baseman Jojo Garza tied for a team-high two hits in the loss, while Salazar led the Red Raiders with two RBI.

Garza said the team focused on keeping Walla Walla grounded on the bases, which they learned from Tuesday’s game. That strategy held up in the early innings before the Bruins got the bats rolling in the bottom of the fifth.

“We knew, with a left-hander, that we were going to have an opportunity if they did get on base to pick over and keep them honest, and not get that second bag,” Garza said. “That was important to see that early.”

Othello took on the winner of Hanford and Yakima Valley on Saturday evening, but scores were not available in time for press deadline. The winner advanced to the AA State Tournament in Spokane later this month.

“It’s quick — I always tell the kids to have a short memory and get over it because the season’s not over, we’ve got a big game (Saturday),” Garza said. “Hopefully we can come out and play well and get a win.”

Box score

OTH: 0-2-1-3-0-0-0 6

WLW: 0-1-2-3-8-0-X 14

    Red Raider shortstop Sonny Salazar, in red, waits for a pitch during Friday’s game against Walla Walla at Parker Field in Yakima. Salazar led Othello with two hits and two RBI in Friday’s game.
  

    Othello pitcher Kal-El Ozuna tracks an incoming pitch during Friday’s district game against Walla Walla.