Submitted photo – The Hoopa Warriors honored their five seniors before Friday’s games against Ferndale.

The Hoopa Warriors celebrated senior day with a big doubleheader sweep over the Ferndale Wildcats in Little 4 softball at Hoopa on Friday.

The Hoopa girls won 8-1 and 12-5 and improved to 6-2 in conference to keep pressure on L4 leaders St. Bernard’s, which improved to 7-1 in conference with a doubleheader sweep at South Fork, also on Friday.

Five Hoopa seniors were honored, a class that includes Bella Valentine, Kishan Dean, Brooklyn Kurtz, Ava Jackson and Rianna Bain.

“There’s a lot I can say about my seniors, especially the two returning seniors (Valentine and Bain),” Hoopa head coach Jordee Colegrove-Avery said. “They are the hardest workers, the first and last on the field, and constantly looking to improve their game to the next level.

“They’re amazing young women, paving the way for their team to strive for success in every aspect of the game.

“They are a joy to coach, they have the best attitudes at all times and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

They also played a key role in Friday’s doubleheader.

Kurtz was 1-for-2 in the opening game, while Bain was 1-for-4.

Standout sophomores Kalia Mitchell and Rikki Lipscomb also continued to impress.

Mitchell finished 2-for-3 in the opening win, while Lipscomb was 1-for-3 with a double.

Monteya Colegrove got the victory in the pitcher’s circle as she continues an impressive spring for the Warriors, allowing just two hits and two walks and striking out 13.

Madison Gossi and Rainy Rodriguez got the Cats’ only two hits of the game and each went 1-for-3, with Gossi also driving in a run.

Game two was close until the sixth inning with the score tied 5-5, before the home team began to pull away.

Roxy Colegrove pitched five innings for the home team and struck out five before Monteya Colegrove took over and struck out six in the final two innings.

Millennia McKindley led the Warriors at the plate and was 2-for-3 with a triple, while Jaiden Kurtz finished 2-for-4 with a double and Mitchell capped a good day by going 1-for-4 with a double.

Roxy Colegrove (1-for-1), Valentine (1-for-3), Lipscomb (1-for-3) and Angela Hern (1-for-4) each also had a base hit in the win.

For Ferndale, Olivia Gossi and Rodriguez led the way at the plate and both finished 2-for-4, while Madison Gossi and Yajaira Cantu-Mendez each was 1-for-3 and Alayna Cooney finished 1-for-4.

The Cats were missing two players due to illness and other commitments, but battled and continued to show improvement.

“In the second game I thought we had a lot of positive energy and we were able to compete with Hoopa,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “It was really a competitive game till the end and I was proud of our girls the way they hung there missing a couple of players.”

Freshman Olivia Gossi pitched both games for the Wildcats and played well, challenging the four-time defending conference champions.

“She battled all day,” Griffith said. “Hoopa got some hits off her, but I thought she threw well.”

Cooney also impressed for the visitors while playing catcher for the first time in high school and filling in for starter Tinnley Pidgeon, who was out of town and missed the game.