File photo – Rylan Lommori had one of Fortuna’s two hits on Wednesday.
The Fortuna Huskies won their third straight game in the Big 5 to move clear at the top of the standings on Wednesday, defeating Del Norte 6-0 in Crescent City.
With the victory, the Huskies improved to 3-1 in league play and are now one win ahead of the Arcata Tigers (2-1), who have a bye in league play this week.
Fortuna’s Drew Franklin pitched a complete-game shutout for the win and allowed just four hits and one walk all day, while striking out four.
The Warriors actually out-hit the Huskies 3-2 for the game but they also gave up 16 free passes on eight walks, three hit-by-pitches and five errors.
Cody Collins and Rylan Lommori each had a hit in the win, with Collins also getting a walk, while Matt Letter and Cayden Danbrauskas were each walked twice, Rogan Gans was hit by a pitch twice and Franklin was walked and hit by a pitch.
“It’s hard to win a ball game when you give 16 free bases away,” said Del Norte head coach Brandon Coborn, who added it was “humbling experience.”
The Huskies improved to 4-4-1 overall.
Brody Mattz, Ethan Thomas, Cooper Maxwell and Aiden Rice each had a base hit for Del Norte, which dropped to 0-1 in league and 6-3 on the season.
Maxwell also continued to impress behind the plate, where he is fast establishing himself as one of the most reliable catchers in league.
“He did a great job catching for us today,” Coborn said. “He did everything he could to keep us in the ball game.”
Preston Daniels got the start on the mound for Del Norte, with Mattz throwing four innings in relief, while Saxon Taylor saw his six-game hitting streak come to an end.
The two teams are scheduled to close out their three-game series with a doubleheader at Fortuna on Saturday.
“We’ve just got to get back to the drawing board and get ready for Fortuna on Saturday,” Coborn said.
The Warriors are now 0-1 in league and 6-3 overall.
