Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Eureka catcher Maeghan Hampton is congratulated by teammates after making an inning-ending play at the plate early in Wednesday’s game.

It was a mixed day for the two local teams still competing in the North Coast Section softball playoffs on Wednesday, with one of them advancing to play for a section championship and the other suffering a season-ending loss.

Up in Crescent City, the Del Norte Warriors won their Division-4 semifinal against Salesian by a score of 6-3.

The No. 2 seed Warriors will play No. 1 Cardinal Newman at Santa Rosa JC on Friday at 5 p.m. after the Cardinals beat Fortuna 7-0 in the other semifinal on Tuesday.

In Division-3 action, the Eureka girls bowed out of the NCS postseason with a 4-1 loss to Encinal at Washington Elementary.

It was the third straight playoff win on the road against a higher seed for the No. 10 Jets, who will play top seed Pinole Valley in the championship game this weekend.

The defeat ended a memorable season for the Eureka girls, who were in contention for the Big 5 title all the way until the final day and would go on to win a second straight Charlie Lakin Tournament championship.

It was also the final game for a deep and talented class of seniors — including pitcher Kira Morris — all of whom left their mark on the program with back-to-back Lakin championships and a league title in 2022.

The Jets broke the deadlock in a tight pitchers’ duel in the top of the fourth on a bases-loaded walk.

A two-RBI single by Cameron Tran just moments later stretched the advantage to three, and that proved to be more than enough with junior pitcher Celeste Hurtubise and her defense in control.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will play for their first NCS title since 2008 and just their second ever when they travel to Santa Rosa to face the Cardinals.

The top-seeded Newman girls have outscored their two playoff opponents 31-0.