Diamond roundup: Othello wins Class 2A state softball title

Othello had come agonizingly close the past few years to winning another state softball title.

Saturday, the Huskies (24-2) finally got to haul the big trophy back to Othello.

They wrapped up the season with a 3-1 win over the Fife Trojans in the Class 2A championship game at Carlon Park in Selah.

Othello won the fourth state title in program history, joining the 1999, 2002 and 2008 teams.

The Huskies were third last year and in 2013, and second in 2014.

“We had a feeling that this year we were going to do it,” Othello coach Rudy Ochoa said. “We had a couple of bumps along the way, but that actually made the girls better.”

They advanced to this year’s title game by beating Sequim, Port Angeles and R.A. Long. Fife (23-2) knocked off defending champion W.F. West 5-2 in Saturday’s semifinals, while Othello defeated R.A. Long 5-1.

The final was scoreless until the fifth inning, when Othello’s Diamond Franco drove a two-out RBI double to deep center. Fife pitcher Anna Kasner hit a tying, two-out home run in the top of the sixth, but Mariah DeLeon’s two-run double in the bottom of the inning provided the winning margin for Othello.

CWAC player of the year Niki Martinez, a junior, allowed two hits — both to Kasner — and struck out four.

“It was great having her,” Ochoa said. “It’s not very often a pitcher like this comes along. Not a lot you can say but thank you, right? The nice thing is we have her back next year.”

Kasner, who struck out 18 in the semifinal against W.F. West, fanned 10 Othello batters and gave up four hits.

Ochoa had a reason why the Huskies were able to overcome the Fife ace.

“Actually, I had some good scouts,” Ochoa said. “That helped a lot.”

W.F. West beat Selah 12-7 in the third/fourth-place game.

CLASS 4A: The 4A state tournament didn’t start out the way Richland had hoped, as the Bombers lost to eventual champion Snohomish by 11 runs.

But Richland won the next five games and held up the third-place trophy at the conclusion of the tournament Saturday in Spokane.

Freshman Emily Garza hit a walkoff RBI single with one out in the ninth inning, and the Bombers (25-6-1) prevailed 2-1 over Jackson of Everett in their third and final game of the day.

In the top of the ninth, with a runner on third and one out, Richland sophomore right fielder Baylei Ozuna caught a fly ball and hurled it home to catcher Paige Liikala, who made the tag to complete the double play.

“It was an unbelievable high school defensive play,” Richland coach Casey Emery said.

Richland opened the second day at Merkel Sports Complex with a 12-2, five-inning victory over Redmond, then beat Puyallup 6-2 to reach the third/fourth-place game.

Sophomore Brandi Andrews pitched all three games Saturday for the Bombers, totaling 14 strikeouts and working past shoulder issues.

“She gave us everything that she had, even though she didn’t have a lot to give us,” Emery said.

Liikala, a senior, hit a two-run homer against Redmond, and freshman Sydney Perryman had a two-run triple in the win over Puyallup.

Senior Kelsea Hinkley tallied five hits on the day for the Bombers, who have earned four top-three finishes in the past five seasons.

“There’s only two teams that walk off the field with a win in their last game,” Emery said. “It definitely felt extremely good for our team to accomplish that, especially after falling behind 4-1 in our second game Friday (against Curtis of University Place).”

Snohomish beat Woodinville 8-6 in the championship game.

CLASS 1B: Defending state champion Liberty Christian’s season ended with a 16-3, five-inning loss to Almira/Coulee-Hartline in the consolation side of the bracket.

Katie Steele went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Patriots (9-13), who had one senior and one junior playing.

“We did better than expected, and they really improved,” Liberty Christian coach Jacob Bush said. “We’re going up to 2B next year. But I’ve got a massive amount of returning players and such good improvement this year, we look good for next year.”

Colton defeated Pomeroy 14-6 for the championship, while Quilcene placed third and ACH fourth.

AROUND THE STATE: DeSales (19-5) beat Brewster 5-3 in the 2B third/fourth-place game at Gateway Sports Complex. The Irish routed Concrete 12-2 in the quarterfinals Friday night, but lost to Toutle Lake 16-3 in Saturday’s semifinals. ... La Center won the 1A title at Columbia Playfield in Richland, defeating Montesano 9-7. Bellevue Christian beat Sultan 6-3 for third place. ... Meadowdale beat Enumclaw 10-0 for the 3A title in Lacey. There were no Mid-Columbia teams in the tournament.

Legion ball

DUSTERS MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT: The tournament goes through Monday at LaPierre Field.

This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 5:29 PM with the headline "Diamond roundup: Othello wins Class 2A state softball title."