Friday, May. 15, 2009

Othello maintains its place among CWAC softball elite

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

After losing six all-league players to graduation from Othello's 2008 2A state championship team, the Huskies could have been forgiven for falling back into the middle of the CWAC pack in 2009.

But Rudy Ochoa, who has led Othello to state in each of his 13 years as fastpitch coach, got busy grooming a new group of players that had the Huskies in the mix for yet another CWAC title.

Othello was swept by Selah 4-2 and 4-3 on Thursday night, preventing the Huskies from securing their 13th league title in 14 years, but Ochoa was OK after the setback.

"We're pretty young, but I'm really happy with the talent we've got right now," he said. "They're working pretty hard."

Leading the newest wave of Othello stars are sisters Alyssa and Miranda Martinez, who have both made a big splash among the CWAC offensive leaders. Alyssa, a freshman catcher, leads the league in batting at .650 amd is tied for the league RBI lead with teammate Eden Garza with 31.

Miranda, a sophomore corner infielder, is tied for the league lead with 16 stolen bases and is 10th in batting with a .482 average.

Third baseman Brenda Rodriguez is a triple threat, hitting .560 (fourth in league) with 28 RBIs (fourth) and 13 stolen bases (tied for fourth).

Garza and Julyssa McKerlie have give Othello an impressive pitching duo, splitting 16 wins and combining for a 1.81 ERA over 96 2/3 innings.

The Huskies lone all-league returner, junior center fielder Kylee Mollotte, has provided steady leadership with a .450 average, 24 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.

"Right now our goal is to make state and place as high as we can," Ochoa said.

Selah 4-4, Othello 2-3

Othello 000 011 0 -- 2 7 1

Selah 210 010 x -- 4 6 1

Eden Garza and Alyssa Martinez; Monica Stout and Sam Harris. Highlights--E.Garza (Oth) 2x3; Jordan McCourtie (Oth) 2x3; Bailee Bunyard (S) 2x3, HR, 3B.

Othello 001 200 0 -- 3 9 1

Selah 000 300 1 -- 4 9 0

Two outs when winning run scored. Julyssa McKerlie and A.Martinez; Stout and Harris. Highlights--E.Garza (Oth) 2x4, 2B; A.Martinez (Oth) 2x4; Linda Rodriguez (Oth) 2x4; Breanna Montemayor (Oth) 2B; Alliston (S) 3x4, game-winning RBI 1B. Oth 16-4 overall.

Grandview 14-9, Ephrata 13-7

Ephrata 200522 2 -- 13 13 5

Grandview 521 060 x -- 14 9 4

Sarah McMartin, Jordyn Peters (2) and Chelsey Hubbard; Christina Mendoza, Ashley Van Tress (5) and Rachel Roberts. Highlights--Hubbard (E) 3x4, 3R, 3 RBI, 2 2B; Skylar Lund (E) 4x5, 5 RBI, 2B, HR; Vanessa Medina (G) 2x5, 2R; Kayla Gonzalez (G) 2x4, 2R, 2 RBI; Giovani Gomez (G) 2x4, R.

Ephrata 024 001 0 -- 7 9 0

Grandview 103 320 x -- 9 13 1

Heidi Buchert and Maddie Lotz; A. Van Tress, Mendoza (3) and Yessenia Bravo. Highlights--Hubbard (E) 2x4, R, RBI; Lund (E) 2x3, 2R, 2B; Medina (G) 3x4, 2R; Gomez (G) 3x3, 3R; Gonzalez (G) 2x4, 3 RBI; A. Van Tress (G) 2x4, 4 RBI, 2R, 3B.

-- Among the SCAC offensive standouts, one leader in particular grabs your attention.

Chani Brisby, a 5-foot-11 River View senior catcher, comes from good stock. The younger sister of former Panthers stars Randy and Ryan Brisby leads all area players with six home runs, more than twice that of any player in the CBBN, CWAC or SCAC East.

In fact, her individual total would lead most area teams.

True, the Panthers do not have an outfield fence, which can allow speedier players to take advantage of balls sliced down the line or drives rolling deep into the gaps.

But River View coach Andy Clayton says there has been no doubt about Brisby's monumental blasts.

"They're all legit," Clayton said. "There was one at Liberty Christian that cleared the fence by 60 feet. She hit one at Zillah that landed on the plateau where the baseball field is.

"She had one on our field that, even though there was no fence, the umps just said, 'Give that to her.' "

Brisby is headed to Columbia Basin College next fall on a volleyball scholarship, but Hawks softball coach Eric Weisgerber will be happy to hear she is considering playing softball as well.