Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Caden Vance got the win on the mound for Eureka on Wednesday.

The Arcata Tigers moved clear at the top of the Big 5 standings with a come-from-behind 6-4 win over the McKinleyville Panthers on Wednesday.

With the win, which was their 11th in 12 games, the Tigers improved to 5-2 in the Big 5 (16-3 overall) and broke a deadlock with the idle Fortuna Huskies, who are 6-3 in league play.

In other Big 5 games on Wednesday, the Eureka Loggers kept their Charlie Lakin tournament chances alive with a 6-2 win over Del Norte at Bomber Field.

Trailing 3-1 to their biggest rivals, the Arcata boys rallied late for the second straight game with five runs down the stretch, including three in the bottom of the fourth.

Cedar Cline was instrumental in the win, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate and getting the victory in relief with another strong pitching effort.

“The kid’s loving the moment, he just steps up,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said of Cline. “He came in and did a great job for us.”

Anthony Ebert, Finn Warner and Ty Ghisetti also had an impact at the plate and each finished 1-for-3 with a double, while Will Mager was 1-for-4.

Ebert pitched 4.1 solid innings for a no-decision, allowing just two earned runs.

“I thought McKinleyville continued to put pressure on us and we answered back,” Troy Ghisetti said. “I’m proud of the kids for stepping up.”

Jack Saso provided the offensive highlight of the day for the Panthers with a lead-off home run in the fourth inning to give the visitors the lead.

They added a second run in the inning but would let the game get away from them late in another close loss and left the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

“We kind of let another one get away from us,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “(Riley) Bates threw good enough to win, we just didn’t play catch today. We’re still also looking for that big hit.”

Tenoch Tapia, Kolbey Stolpe and Bates each also had a hit in the loss, as a young Panthers team dropped to 5-5 in the Big 5 (10-8 overall).

Bates threw four strong innings with Evan Fraser also impressing in relief.

“It was a good game, it was back and forth” Dobrec said. “The kids competed and that’s all I can ask for.”

Eureka 6, Del Norte 2

The Loggers improved to 3-4 in the Big 5 and remain in a tight battle for the third and final Charlie Lakin postseason tournament berth.

The Eureka boys broke open a tight game with four runs in the bottom of the fourth and they immediately answered the call both times the Warriors took the lead in the top of the first and fourth innings.

Six different Eureka players each had a base hit in the win, including a triple by Rogan Bode, who finished 1-for-3.

Caden Vance was outstanding again on the mound, throwing a complete game for the win and allowing just four hits and three walks, while striking out seven.

“Caden was fantastic on the mound for us,” head coach Shannon Rodgers said.

Michael Jewell, Ty Crawford, Cooper Ohlsen, Robert Willians and Seth Grammer each also had a hit in the win, with Jewel, Ohlsen and Williams each also driving in a pair of runs.

We’ll have more on Del Norte on Thursday.

The Warriors are now 1-6 in league and 8-10-1 overall, while Eureka is now 10-6 overall.