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A magical run came to an end for the Arcata Tigers on Thursday night — barely.
The team that made it further than any other H-DNL baseball or softball team this spring has made a habit of pulling out dramatic wins.
The Tigers won a North Coast Section championship thanks to back-to-back walk-off victories last week, and they began the NorCal playoffs in much the same way with an extra-innings win on the road against a higher seed on Tuesday.
They almost did it again in Thursday’s semifinal against Central Catholic in Modesto, losing 7-4 but leaving the bases loaded in the top of the seventh.
“The kids continued to battle all season long,” head coach Troy Ghisetti said. “The seniors had a great year. They won the most games in Arcata history and they’re leaving with a section championship.”
The Tigers, who finished the season 25-7, had opportunities to put up some runs in each of the final two innings, which made for an exciting finish.
Ultimately, however, mistakes proved costly against a quality opponent.
“We just didn’t pitch very well,” Ghisetti said. “We had 12 walks and four (hit-by-pitches), and with a team like that, giving them extra bases is what really hurt us.”
The Tigers also committed two errors.
Sophomore Anthony Ebert led the way at the plate and was 3-for-5 with a double, while senior Chase Coleman, who will play at Mission College in Santa Clara next year, was 2-for-4 in his final high school game.
Will Mager, Wilson Medina and Finn Warner each also had a base hit in the loss.
Ben Lukens got the start on the mound and took the loss, walking six and striking out two in five innings.
The Raiders will play Oakmont in the NorCal championship game on Saturday.
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