File photo – The Fortuna Huskies

Rounding out the local weekend baseball action, Ferndale and South Fork split a Little 4 doubleheader in hot conditions in Miranda, while the Fortuna Huskies set themselves up for a pivotal week with a non-league win at Justin-Siena in Napa.

The South Fork Cubs took game one of their doubleheader in extra innings, winning 5-4 on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th, but the Cats would battle back to take game two 17-5 in five innings.

Trailing by two runs going into the bottom of the seventh of the opening game, South Fork pulled even on a clutch Jonah Wansick two-RBI double.

Ferndale would re-take the lead again in the top of the ninth, but Wansick responded with another clutch two-RBI double to pull his team even again before Harding scored the winning run an inning later.

“Overall, I’m super stoked with how my kids battled back in the first game,” South Fork head coach Chris Contreras said. “It was a little bit of a letdown not getting the win in game two, but honestly I’m super stoked with how we came back in the first game.”

Harding had a base hit in the opener and did a good job running the bases, while also pitching a “great game” into the fifth inning, according to his coach.

Makani Buck-Zulim also pitched well on his way to the victory, as he stepped up for a shorthanded staff after not seeing a lot of action on the mound this spring.

“The kid was on fire,” Contreras said of Buck-Zulim.

For Ferndale, Prescott Langer had a good game on the mound, pitching 6.1 innings of one-hit ball for a no-decision, with Levi Dixon also throwing well in relief.

Dixon led his team at the plate with a pair of hits, while teammates Trent Titus, Parker Prior, Tanner Pidgeon and Jarett Smith each had one.

“Credit to South Fork,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. “I felt we were in control of the game, but they just kept battling.”

Prior got the win on the mound in game two, with teammate Austin Michel throwing three quick strikeouts to close out the game in the fifth.

Dixon again was instrumental for the Cats and finished 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, four RBIs and three runs.

Pidgeon and Jonah Anderson each went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, while Langer and Prior each added two hits.

Defensively, Smith played well behind the plate in both games.

With the split, Ferndale is now 6-4 in the Little 4 (7-5 overall) with two games remaining against league champion St. Bernard’s, while South Fork is now 4-6 (4-9) with two games remaining against Hoopa.

Both teams, who have now split two league doubleheaders between them, have already qualified for the Charlie Lakin tournament.

File photo – The South Fork Cubs

Fortuna 8, Justin-Siena 3

The Huskies helped their potential playoff seeding with a key win over a North Coast Section Division-4 team on Saturday.

The Huskies are ranked No. 3 in the bracket, according to MaxPreps, while the Braves are No. 5.

The win also will give Fortuna some momentum heading into a three-game series against Eureka in the final week of league play.

The Huskies, who are 6-3 in league play (8-6-1 overall) are tied for the league lead with the Arcata Tigers, who are the top-ranked D-4 team in the NCS, with three games remaining each.

The Huskies took control of Saturday’s game with Cole Ayala blasting a three-run home run in the top of the first, and they never trailed, racking up 15 hits for the day.

Cody Collins had a big day, getting the win on the mound and going a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of runs, while Ayala was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a walk.

Rogan Gans also had a big day and finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Matt Letter and Tyler Schlesiger each added a double, while Rylan Lommori, Cayden Danbrauskas, Colt Chamberlain and Cole Victorine each had a hit.

Collins pitched 4.1 innings for the win on the mound and allowed five hits and three walks, with Drew Franklin coming to close out the game, allowing two hits and a walk in 2.2 innings.