Huskies best Jacks in doubleheader

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies earned two solid victories in a doubleheader against the Quincy Jackrabbits on Thursday afternoon to start their first games of league play this season. The Huskies won their games 13-0 and 20-3. 

“I think what helped us out the most is that we stayed on top of each other and really just brought each other together,” said Huskies senior Alizay Pruneda. “Every mistake, every bad thought, we just flushed it down the toilet, moved on, and we got better.” 

In game one, the Huskies gained more momentum as each inning passed. Othello scored two runs in the first inning with a ground ball from Kiana Salazar and then scored four in the second inning when Evony Gomez singled to score three runs and a passed ball scored another run. 

Othello had a hot streak in the fourth inning after both teams went scoreless in the third, scoring seven runs off an error, a double from Salazar, a double from Alexa Prochet, a single from Alizay Pruneda, a single from Aliyah Rojas and a double from Bethany Zamora that scored two. Despite Quincy’s efforts, they were unable to score a run in the top of the fifth and the game would end 13-0. 

Prochet from the Huskies had a dominant run on the mound as she threw 11 strikeouts and surrendered one hit and zero runs over five innings. Zyhanna Stephens started on the mound for the Jacks where she surrendered 12 hits and 13 runs over four innings, striking out one and walking five. 

The two teams entered game two, and Quincy was the first on the board with a single from Madilynn Stephens that scored their first run of the day. The Huskies went on a hot streak in the bottom of the first inning, scoring 15 runs with six of those being driven in on three hits from Pruneda.  

Quincy was unable to respond in the top of the second inning and then again in the bottom of the inning. Othello scored another five points with a double from Kenzie Martinez and a single from Pruneda, scoring two runs each, and an error for another run. 

The Jacks worked to try and climb back in the third inning as they scored runs from Mariah Stevens and Naylanie Heras, but the Huskies held strong and the game ended 20-3 after three innings. 

Martinez started on the mound for the Huskies, giving up two hits and three runs throughout the game, striking out four and walking two. Zyhanna Stephens led on pitching for the Jacks, surrendering 15 hits and 20 runs over two innings.   

“I really loved our energy today,” said Pruneda. “It was better than most games, for sure.” 

With Pruneda being one of two seniors for the Huskies, alongside Meylen Valdez, she feels it has become important to push the team’s motto of having each other’s backs no matter what. She said this season her focus is on improving her perseverance. 

“It’s kind of my word of the year, that’s always been stuck with me since freshman year and I’ve just always been learning through it,” said Pruneda. 

Huskies Head Coach Dominique Martinez said she saw a lot of improvement from her players against Quincy after the first three games of the season. She said despite the slower start in the first game, the team continued to gain momentum and immediately carried that into the second game. 

“I feel like they were having a lot of fun,” said Martinez. “They were definitely being competitive, but they knew how to also have fun, and I think that’s why the game went very well for them.” 

This game showed how well things go when the Othello players work together on the field and will aid them in getting wins down the stretch. This season, she said the goals set for the team is to just focus on slowly getting better each series of games they have. 

“The different schools in our league, they vary, but we want to make sure we’re always on top and no matter what, we’re taking something from each game or doubleheader that we can work on to improve for our next set,” said Martinez. 

Jacks Head Coach Pauline Baughman said coming into Thursday’s doubleheader, the team knew Othello was going to be a tough opponent, but ultimately, they were shown what they still need to work on as they head deeper into league play. 

“In my conversation with my players after the game, I think I really want them to understand that routine plays are expected out so those are things that we need to be prepared for coming into every game,” said Baughman. “We really need to capitalize on our routine plays so that we can get the expected outs we need.” 

With Quincy dealing with a lot of younger athletes and a strong group of seniors, she said the goal this season is trying to solidify the team dynamics, along with improving on what they accomplished last season.  

“A lot of the younger athletes are pushing the older ones, which I’m happy about because that means that nobody is solid in their place,” said the Jacks coach. “I think finding placement for everyone is a goal of ours that we’re still looking at.” 

The Huskies prepare to go on the road for their next doubleheader against Prosser Saturday with the first game at 11 a.m. The Jacks return home Friday for a doubleheader against Ellensburg starting at 4 p.m. 

BOX SCORES 

GAME ONE 

QNCY: 0-0-0-0-0-x-x: 0
OTHL: 2-4-0-7-x-x-x: 13 

GAME TWO 

QNCY: 1-0-2-x-x-x-x: 3
OTHL: 15-5-x-x-x-x-x: 20 

OTHELLO ROSTER: 

Name, Jersey 

Alexa Prochet, 11
Aliyah Rojas, 13
Alizay Pruneda, 17
Amelia Vega, 9
Bethany Zamora, 4
Chita Lara, 12
Evony Gomez, 2
Imani Quezada, 3
Jena DeLeon, 1
Kenzie Martinez, 10
Kiana Salazar, 5
Maria Tapia, 6
Maylen Valdez, 15 

QUINCY ROSTER: 

Name, Jersey 

Abril Jimenez, 15
Allison Virgen, 16
Alyana Quintanilla, 8
Andrea Birrueta, 5
Ashley Diaz, 20
Diana Herrera Virrueta, 10
Ella Reyes, 4
Genesis Hinojosa, 17
Hayden Guerhn, 24
Jada Rubio, 9
Madilynn Stephens, 6
Mariah Stephens, 3
Naylanie Heras, 12
Steph Santillana, 19
Trinity Gomez, 7
Zyhanna Stephens, 11 

    Jacks player Naylanie Heras throws the ball back into the diamond to stop the Huskies run in game two Thursday.
  

    Othello’s Jena DeLeon prepares to make a run for third base during Thursday’s game doubleheader against Quincy.
  

    Diana Herrera Virrueta from Quincy steps up to bat in game two against Othello Thursday.
  

    Jacks player Abril Jimenez (15) gets ready for the pitch while Huskies player Aliyah Rojas (13) prepares to make a run for second base.