Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Cooper Ohlsen and the Eureka boys need one win this week to secure a No. 2 seed for next week’s Charles Lakin tournament.

By Ray Hamill — The final two of the four Big 5 and Little 4 titles in baseball and softball will be decided over the next three days as we get set for the final week of the H-DNL regular season.

This past weekend, the St. Bernard’s Crusaders clinched a first L4 championship in softball in eight years, while the McKinleyville Panthers continued to roll on their way to claiming the Big 5 title in baseball.

That leaves the Big 5 softball and Little 4 baseball championships still up for grabs.

The most intriguing battle is the race for the L4 baseball crown, with contenders St. Bernard’s and Ferndale deadlocked atop the standings with identical records of 9-1.

The two schools will face off in a conference deciding doubleheader at Ferndale on Friday afternoon in one of the most anticipated showdowns of the spring.

St. Bernard’s has dominated the league for much of the past two decades, winning 15 of the 16 championships since 2006, including the past five.

The Wildcats will be looking to secure a first title since 2005.

South Fork and Hoopa will also close out conference play on Friday with a doubleheader in Miranda.

The host Cubs are 2-8 in conference and need one more win to hold off the Warriors (0-10) for the third and final L4 spot in next week’s Charles Lakin tournament.

In Big 5 softball, meanwhile, the Del Norte girls are closing in on a second straight championship.

The Warriors are 7-2 and one win clear at the top of the standings, with McKinleyville (8-4) and Fortuna (6-3) tied for second.

McKinleyville has already completed its conference schedule, while Fortuna will play three games against Eureka (1-8) this week and Del Norte will play three games against Arcata (2-7).

The St. Bernard’s boys will play for a sixth straight Little 4 championship on Friday.

Eureka’s Mallorie Beauchamp and the Loggers will play three games against Fortuna this week.

All three frontrunners have already guaranteed themselves a place in the Lakin postseason tournament with the top three places set, but the final order of those three spots remains up in the air and the championship could yet end up in a three-way tie.

If the Del Norte girls win all three games they will be crowned outright champs no matter what happens elsewhere, and if they win two they will be guaranteed at least a co-championship.

If the Fortuna girls win all three of their games, they will finish no worse than second and they could share or win the title outright depending on how the Warriors fare.

If the McKinleyville girls are to share the title, they would need Del Norte to drop two games and Fortuna to lose once.

If the Panthers are to match the Mack boys and win the Big 5 outright, they would need Del Norte to lose all three games and for Fortuna to lose at least two.

If the Fortuna girls are to win it outright, they need to sweep all three of their games and for Del Norte to lose at least twice.

In Little 4 softball, the top two spots have already been decided, but the race for the third and final Charles Lakin tournament berth remains up in the air.

The Ferndale girls (3-7) are third in the standings heading into their final doubleheader against St. Bernard’s (9-1), while South Fork (2-8) is fourth heading into a Friday doubleheader against Hoopa (6-4) in Miranda.

Ferndale pitcher Addison Collenberg

One win for the Wildcats would guarantee them a place in next week’s H-DNL tournament, as would two losses for the Cubs.

If the Cubs are to sneak the final tournament berth they would have to win at least one game and hope the Cats lose twice, which could result in a tie for third in the final standings and presumably a tournament play-in game.

And finally, in Big 5 baseball conference champion McKinleyville is 11-1 and guaranteed a top seed for the Lakin tournament, with Eureka (7-2) guaranteed at least a tie for second in the final standings.

However, if they lose all three games this week to Fortuna (4-5), there would be a tie for second and presumably a coin flip to decide which school gets the No. 2 seed.

The Arcata and Del Norte boys (both 1-8) remain in the chase for a tournament berth, although both schools’ chances are slim.

Either team can still qualify if they sweep the other and Eureka sweeps Fortuna, which would result in a two-way tie for third and presumably a tournament play-in game.

The Arcata boys can still qualify for next week’s Charles Lakin tournament.