ANACORTES – The second-ranked Othello baseball team returned to form Saturday, rolling past Anacortes, 11-1, at Daniels Baseball Field to earn its second straight berth in the Class 2A state tournament.

And with the dominating win, the Huskies become this year’s poster children for ‘what will the committee do with this team?’

Othello won the always-strong CWAC by two games, and its 15-1 conference mark included sweeps against state-qualifying Selah and Ellensburg.

Last spring’s third-place finishers also has been ranked in VarsityWA’s top five and near the top of the WIAA’s RPI. Othello moved up to second in the latter with Saturday’s victory.

But in the district semifinals against the Bulldogs, a forgettable fifth inning kept them from a shot at the district championship.

The Huskies (21-4) bounced back with a 4-1 victory to advance to the crossover, where they handled the Seahawks.

“I know it’s a tough decision,” Othello coach Sonny Garza said. “I hope they don’t make the decision on one inning. We definitely didn’t make it easy for them.”

Senior right-hander Aiden Garza, who took the loss against Ellensburg, tossed six strong innings, striking out four and giving up five hits.

“He had a great game, and it was nice to see him bounce back,” Coach Garza said. “It was something we felt that was going to happen. It’s just the person he is.”

After Anacortes scored its one run in the bottom of the first, Othello answered with four runs in the top of the second, keyed by three hit batters and Quade Gonzalez’s RBI single.

Another hit batter, three walks and an error helped the Huskies score two in the third without a hit.

They kept it going with three runs in the fourth, with RJay Garza’s triple scoring Aaden Montes, and Ryan Martinez singling in Garza. The second of three Anacortes errors plated the final run of the rally, and made it 9-1.

Othello capped its scoring with two runs in the sixth, aided by another error and walk.

“We stayed aggressive, put the ball in play and kept pressure on them,” said Garza, a member of Othello’s 2003 state championship team.

Montes finished with three hits and three runs, Martinez added two hits and an RBI.

FASTPITCH

Ellensburg falls in crossover

EVERETT – Archbishop Murphy put up three runs in the bottom of the first and rolled to a 9-2 victory Saturday in a winner-to-state matchup.

The Wildcats advanced to the Class 2A state tournament at Selah’s Carlon Park on Friday and Saturday while the Bulldogs finished the season 18-8.

Ava Stueckle had two hits – one of them a double – and drove in a run, and Emerson Morrill added two hits and an RBI for Ellensburg.