Tohatchi walks off Wingate in extra innings

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

TOHATCHI — In one of their final games of the regular season, the Tohatchi Cougars needed eight innings to outlast the Wingate Bears, pulling out a 5-4 walk-off win Tuesday evening in a dramatic finish at Tohatchi High School.

The Cougars held a narrow lead most of the game, but the Bears clawed back late to force extra innings. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, eighth grader Tatum Bitsie drew a walk, allowing junior Brayden Chee to trot home for the game-winning run.

“I just told my pitcher to keep it close and we might have a chance,” said Tohatchi head coach Freeland Benally. “We’re the home team and we might get a chance at last bats — that’s what happened in the outcome. We just needed to keep it close.”

The Cougars opened with a strong first inning, as freshman Amir Woodie crossed home and pitcher Thurmond Bitsie struck out three straight batters to keep Wingate scoreless. Bitsie would later contribute at the plate as well, rounding the bases in the second to extend the lead to 2-0. Wingate answered with a run of their own as freshman Luke Davis scored to make it 2-1 after two innings.

Both teams went down in order in the third, but Tohatchi added another run in the fourth with Bitsie again coming home. Wingate was kept quiet at the plate, and the Cougars held a 3-1 lead heading into the fifth.

After a quiet fifth, the action picked up in the sixth. Tohatchi scratched across a run on another Bitsie trip around the bases, but Wingate responded with a pair of scores from senior Arwin Thompson and junior Lance Davis, cutting the lead to 4-3.

The Bears completed their comeback in the top of the seventh, tying the game 4-4 behind a clutch run from senior Jaden Martin. Tohatchi couldn’t answer in their half of the frame, pushing the contest into an extra inning.

Both teams went scoreless in the eighth until the Cougars loaded the bases. With the pressure on, Tatum Bitsie showed poise beyond his years, taking ball four to end the game in walk-off fashion.

The win marks Tohatchi’s fourth straight since a loss to Navajo Prep and sets up a pivotal final regular season matchup.

“I thought we had a good season, you know, and we’ll see what happens,” coach Benally said. “I’m just looking forward to our next game and if we get invited to the state tournament. We’ll see what happens.”

Tohatchi (14-6) hosted the Window Rock Fighting Scouts on Wednesday to close out the regular season. The score was not available at press time.

Wingate (8-7) finishes with two doubleheaders — against Navajo Prep on Thursday and Thoreau on Apr. 29