File photo – The Ferndale Wildcats
The Ferndale Wildcats overcame a late deficit on their way to their second win this season over the Fortuna Huskies on Monday, as they continue their impressive spring on the baseball fields.
After leading for much of the game, the Wildcats gave up six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to leave them trailing 7-6.
But finding ways to win games has not been a problem for this year’s Wildcats, who immediately responded with three runs in the top of the sixth, and they would hold on for a 10-7 victory over their neighbors and biggest rivals.
“The momentum had started to shift, but we turned around and came right back,” said Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen, whose team has lost just once this season.
Once again, Ferndale got contributions from throughout a deep lineup, with seven different players combining for nine hits.
Tanner Pidgeon and Austin Michel led the way at the plate for the Cats.
Pidgeon finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and also scored two runs, while Michel was 2-for-4 with a run.
Trent Titus also made some noise at the plate and went 1-for-3 with three RbIs and also scored a run, while teammate Jonah Anderson finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs.
“Our approach at the plate has continued to get better,” Andersen said. “And that continued today. I feel like we’re getting there.”’
Chad Mussey and Tyler Schlesiger led the Huskies at the plate.
Schlesiger was 2-for-3 with a double and Mussey finished 2-for-4, while Blayne Barrote was 1-for-1 with a double.
“It was a good game,” Fortuna head coach Max Betts said. “Ferndale is a great team. I thought both teams hit the ball great. Lots of hard hit balls. Ferndale just made less mistakes than us.”
After a stop-and-start early season, the Ferndale bats really started to show some life late in game one of a recent doubleheader at St. Bernard’s and they have continued to impress since then.
Even a 10-day break between games didn’t seem to slow down that momentum.
“If we can do that and shore up our defense a little bit, our pitchers have been doing everything we’ve asked of them,” Andersen added. “Things are definitely going in the right direction and we just want to build on that and keep it going.”
File photo – The Fortuna Huskies
Prescott Langer, Levi Dixon and Thomas Fergison each also had a base hit for the Wildcats, who improved to 10-1-1 on the season, with Langer also scoring a pair of runs.
Casey Moore, Emmitt Lumpkin and Kallen Barrote each also had a hit for the Huskies, who dropped to 4-9-1.
Tanner Franklin, Drew Franklin, Mussey and Mariquis Ludd each saw time on the mound for Fortuna.
Dixon got the start for the Wildcats and allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks in 4.1 innings, before Parker Prior came in and got the win in relief.
Both teams will now return to conference play with big games for each later this week.
The Huskies open a three-game series against the Tigers with a single game at Arcata on Wednesday afternoon, while the Wildcats will try to remain atop the Little 4 standings when they play a doubleheader at Hoopa on Friday.
