Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — A pair of league championship teams take center stage this week.

After clinching their respective conference titles in baseball over the past seven days, the McKinleyville Panthers and Ferndale Wildcats are our co-teams of the week.

The Panthers have been the best team in the H-DNL all spring and they closed out a dominating regular season with 12 straight wins.

That impressive run included eight straight conference victories on the way to their first Big 5 championship since 2019.

Head coach Mike Dobrec has done an outstanding job this spring with a talented and deep roster, and with several younger players making big contributions this is a team that looks poised to compete for more Big 5 titles over the next two or three years.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, had to wait a little longer for their breakthrough championship.

I’m pretty sure none of this year’s players were even born the last time Ferndale won a championship in the sport, 19 years ago.

They sealed the deal in emphatic fashion, sweeping a doubleheader against their biggest nemesis, St. Bernard’s, on the final day of the regular season on Friday.

And they came to play with a determined performance, giving up just one run in 14 innings and winning the games 4-1 and 3-0.

It was a great accomplishment for the program and head coach Justin Andersen, who is one of the most under-rated baseball coaches in the area and has done a very good job in his 14 years in charge of the Cats.

Rounding out our weekly awards is one of the best athletes the H-DNL has seen over the past several years.

Eureka senior Kaitlin Giacone concluded her high school career in thrilling fashion on Friday, leading a very young Loggers softball team to a dramatic walk-off win in their final game of the season on Friday.

Giacone’s RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning led Eureka to an 8-7 win over Fortuna and ended a 14-game losing streak for the team.

And that makes her our athlete of the week.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK 

Kaitlin Giacone 

Eureka Softball, Senior 

Giacone has left a memorable legacy for Eureka sports.

The multi-sport standout, who is a two-time Big 5 MVP in basketball, has been a big bright spot this spring on a young Eureka softball team that features 11 sophomores and freshman on a roster of 14.

“It was a great way for her to end her senior year,” Eureka head coach Cheyenne King said of Giacone after Friday’s thrilling conclusion.

For more on her big performance, see Giacone lifts Loggers to walk-off win in final high school at bat …

TEAMS OF THE WEEK 

Ferndale Baseball

The Wildcats are champions of the Little 4 after taking three of four conference games against St. Bernard’s this spring.

Remarkably, Andersen and his players have still lost just once all spring and they are very deserving conference champions for the first time since 2005.

Several players have stepped up for this team this year and it’s difficult to single any one or two.

But the pitchers — Prescott Langer and Levi Dixon each had complete-game wins on Friday — have been outstanding the entire season, as has shortstop Parker Prior, who has one of the best defensive gloves in the entire H-DNL right now.

For more on their big week, see TOP CATS! — Ferndale ends long Little 4 championship drought …

Photo by Erik Fraser

McKinleyville Baseball

Similar to the Wildcats, the Panthers have a very deep and talented roster, with several players stepping up this spring.

And similar to the Wildcats — and most championship teams in baseball — they feature some outstanding pitching.

The staff is anchored by seniors Evan Fraser and Branson Dobrec and junior Jackson Kelly, who have combined to set the tone for their teammates all spring and have gotten plenty of help from the best defensive lineup in the H-DNL.

And that’s not all.

The Panthers’ bats have been on fire lately, which will make them a very dangerous proposition heading into the postseason.

For more on their big week, see Panthers seal the deal, secure Big 5 championship without any help …