Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Friday’s game between St. Bernard’s and Ferndale at Bear River.

By Ray Hamill — The Ferndale Wildcats got the better of their Little 4 nemesis at the St. Bernard’s tournament at Bear River on Friday, while Ben Lukens and the Arcata Tigers made an early-season statement.

The Tigers defeated Fortuna 10-0 in five innings in the championship game of the two-day tournament and improved to 2-0-1, while the Wildcats defeated the tournament hosts 8-2 in the third-place game for their second win of the day and also improved to 2-0-1.

Lukens threw a one-hitter to lead the Tigers, who tied Ferndale and defeated Hoopa on Thursday to reach the tourney final.

“I thought we had a lot better approach at the plate today,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said after Friday’s win. “And Ben came out and was ahead in the count and didn’t allow too many walks and let his defense do the work.”

Lukens threw all five innings for a complete-game win, allowing just one hit and two walks and striking out eight.

He got help from a balanced Arcata offense that accounted for seven hits, led by Finn Warner, who was 2-for-3.

One day after exploding for eight hits in two games, sophomore standout Tanner Kees finished 1-for-2 with two walks, while Anthony Ebert was 1-for-1 and Alex Greenway was 1-for-2.

Charlie Mager (1-for-3) and Lukens (1-for-4) each also had a hit in the win.

“It was a nice win,” Ghisetti said. “We’re just trying to get better every time we get out on the field.”

Next up, the Tigers are scheduled to play at the Fort Bragg tournament, which begins next Friday.

Mariqus Ludd had the only hit of the game for the Huskies.

The Ferndale Wildcats, meanwhile, capped a couple of good days in tournament play with a pair of victories.

They opened the day with a 14-5 victory over Hoopa.

Austin Michel got the win on the hill, giving up just two earned runs on two hits and two walks in five innings and striking out 11.

“Austin pitched well,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. “He put us in position to win and we did a good job hitting the fastballs.”

Tanner Pidgeon led the Cats at the plate and was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and four runs, while teammate Levi Dixon was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Parker Prior also had a big game on offense, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBIs, four runs and four stolen bases, while Michel was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and Prescott Langer finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Trent Titus also had a base hit in the win.

The Ferndale boys carried the momentum into the third-place game against the tournament hosts and got a rare win over their conference nemesis, which could augur well for the upcoming Little 4 campaign.

And they did it while matching up against one of SB’s best pitchers, sophomore Michael Manzi.

“I thought we did a good job of battling against a good pitcher,” Andersen said. 

The game was tied at 2-2 going into the seventh inning after the Crusaders had rallied from a 2-0 deficit.

But the Cats would pull away late.

Dixon got the win on the mound, allowing just two earned runs on four hits and three hit batsmen in 6.1 innings, while striking out 11.

Jonah Anderson led the offense and was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Titus was 1-for-3 with two runs and Pidgeon finished 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

Michel capped a good day by going 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Jarrett Smith also was 1-for-3 with an RBI and Langer finished 1-for-4 with a run.

Manzi threw 6.1 innings for the Crusaders.

“I thought both pitchers pitched well,” said Andersen, who added “I thought we got better every game and that’s all you can hope for at this time of year.”

Next up, the Wildcats are scheduled to play at Trinity on Tuesday, although that game remains in doubt because of the weather forecast.

The Huskies, meanwhile, split their two games on Friday, beating Trinity 30-0 in their first game to reach the final.

Ludd and Tyler Schlesiger provided the offensive highlights of the first game and each hit three-run home runs.

Senior Ryan Griffith got the victory on the mound.

Senior Chad Mussey started on the hill in the final and pitched “great” according to head coach Max Betts, while also getting a base hit.

“Some mistakes early put us in a hole,” Betts said. “I give credit to Arcata’s players. They put the bat on the ball and made solid contact the whole night.”

Next up, the Huskies will travel for the Fort Bragg tournament, along with the Tigers.

The Del Norte Warriors were also in action on Friday at the Pleasant Valley tournament.

The Warriors played two games, opening the day with a 1-0 loss to Golden Valley before tying the tournament hosts 6-6.

Aiden Rice continued his impressive start to the season one day after leading the Warriors with three hits in a 9-2 loss to Wheatland.

Rice pitched a one-hit complete game in Friday’s loss, but errors proved costly for the Del Norte defense and the Warriors stranded “seven or eight” runners on the bases, according to head coach Jeff Cook.

Freshman Landon Williams impressed against Pleasant Valley and kickstarted a late five-run rally to help secure the tie.

Senior teammate Mason Borges got some clutch hits, while juniors Anthony Cardenas and Greyson Franklin each also hit well at the plate.

Standout junior Saxon Taylor threw a four-hitter for a no-decision against a quality PV team.

There were some bright spots early in the season for the Warriors despite not getting any wins in their opening three games.

“We have definitely gotten better one game at a time,” Cook said.

The Warriors continue tournament play on Saturday when they play University at 1:30 p.m.