Huskies victorious in first round of districts

OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies (18-3) came out victorious over the number four seeded Selah in the first round of the District 5 2A tournament Tuesday afternoon. With their 9-2 victory, the number one-seeded Huskies get to host their opponents once again Saturday. 

“Down 2-0 in the first four innings, came back, nine runs at the end of the game. That’s what the best team in the state does,” said Ryan Martinez from the Huskies. 

The Huskies had a slower start during Tuesday’s game as Selah put up two runs in the top of the first inning. Othello stayed persistent throughout the next four innings but was unable to score any runs.  

Othello flipped the game on its head in the fifth inning as the Huskies had Aaden Montes score on an error, Trey Tovar singled on a line drive to score Tyler Suarez and Xzyyvn Martinez doubled to score Cain Gonzalez. Then Ryan Martinez slammed a home run to score Zayvier Olazcon, Xzyyvn Marinez and RJay Garza to put the score at 7-2. 

“First, they gave four hitter Quade (Gonzalez), future CWAC MVP, they gave him four straight balls. I didn’t think they wanted to pitch to him because they wanted to get to me, especially when I grounded out twice,” said Ryan Martinez. “My mind said to hit the ball hard, got a fastball in my pitch and drove it.” 

Selah was unable to respond for the remainder of the game and with two more runs scored off a single from Xzyyvn Martinez, the Huskies won 9-2. 

“It’s always going to be a good game playing Selah, it’s a really good team that’s coached really well so we knew it was going to be a battle and they got on us quick,” said Huskies Head Coach Sonny Garza. “We kind of played from behind the first couple innings, but the last couple innings is what I’ve been telling the guys, those are the innings we’ve got to win.”  

Xzyyvn Martinez was dominant on the mound for Othello as he pitched all seven innings giving up two hits, two runs, struck out nine and walked none. 

“We had our ace on the mound there,” said the coach. “He was able to go seven full innnings.  Hasn’t been anything new to him and that’s been the kind of guy he’s been all year, so we knew we were going to get that out of him. He’s just a dog for us on the mound.” 

One thing that Garza said the coaching staff keeps in the minds of the players in between innings, especially when they’re down like they were against Selah, is to just stay in it. Any moment could be when the opportunity to strike could arise so as long as they keep playing there is always a chance to win. 

“Baseball’s tough. You want to win each inning, obviously, but it’s baseball. You’re not going to win every inning,” said the coach. “There’s seven innings for a reason, there’s 21 outs for a reason. You have to play all 21 and play all seven.” 

Coming out of the game against Selah, Garza said the Huskies truly thrived offensively as the team stayed loose and played their game even if they were behind throughout the game. As the team moves forward in the postseason, he wants to see the team to continue working on their baserunning. 

With an overall solid first game of the postseason wrapped up, the coach said he is pleased with the abilities that Othello is showing at this point in the season. 

“Really good to see the offense come around,” said Garza. “Going into Saturday and into this postseason, you have to score runs and it’s good to get them in bunches like we did.” 

Ryan Martinez said he is feeling great as the Huskies get prepared for Saturday’s game and is confident in everyone’s ability to make it further. 

“Stay within us, stay in our dugout,” he said. “We have the guys, we know it. They have guys, but we’ve got more like Coach Sonny Garza always says.” 

The Huskies will play at home Saturday at 1 p.m. where they will face the winner of the Quincy and Ellensburg game earlier that day. 

BOX SCORE 

SELA: 2-0-0-0-0-0-0: 2 

OTHL: 0-0-0-0-7-2-x: 9 

    Othello’s Xzyyvn Martinez gets ready to sling a pitch to the Selah batter during Tuesdays district tournament matchup.
  

    Quade Gonzalez from the Huskies makes a catch at first base for an out against Selah Tuesday afternoon.
  

    Noah Ozuna from Othello steps up to bat during Tuesday’s game against Selah.
  

    Othello’s RJay Garza keeps his eye on the ball to catch it and give Selah an out Tuesday afternoon.
  

    Aaden Montes from the Huskies steps up to the plate ready to bat against Selah in the district tournament.