Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Del Norte girls will play for a Big 5 championship on Monday.
By Ray Hamill — Put the celebrations on hold.
The Del Norte Warriors will have to wait at least two more days before they can claim a second straight outright Big 5 championship in softball.
Saturday’s scheduled conference-concluding doubleheader against Arcata in Crescent City was postponed until Monday because of the field conditions.
And that means we’ll have to wait at least two more days until we know the destination of this year’s pennant.
It also means the McKinleyville Panthers and Fortuna Huskies will have to wait to see if they have won a co-championship.
The Del Norte girls are 8-2 in the Big 5 with their two games remaining, while the other two contenders are 8-4 having completed their conference schedule.
If the Tigers can pull off the upset and sweep the league leaders in Monday’s doubleheader, the there will be a three-way tie for the championship.
If, however, the Warriors can win at least one of the two games they will be crowned outright champions.
The good news for the Warriors is that they are guaranteed at least a co-championship after Eureka secured a thrilling walk-off win over Fortuna in their final conference game on Friday.
That result means both the Huskies and Panthers closed out the Big 5 with identical 8-4 records and they are currently in a tie for second.
Monday’s doubleheader in Crescent City is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
The Arcata Tigers will play a doubleheader at Del Norte on Monday.
Saturday’s scheduled baseball doubleheader between Del Norte and Arcata in Crescent City also has been put back to Monday with game one set for 2 p.m.
Neither Arcata nor Del Norte will advance to next week’s Charles Lakin tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, so pitching won’t be a concern for either team.
If the Del Norte girls can claim the Big 5 title outright, they will be guaranteed a top seed for the Charles Lakin softball tournament and a first-round bye.
The postseason tourney gets under way on Tuesday at the Arcata Sports Complex.
If Fortuna and McKinleyville receive the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds for that tournament they will open play on Tuesday.
The Lakin tournament semifinals will be played on Thursday, followed by the championship game on Friday evening.
The Lakin baseball tournament will take place at the Arcata Ball Park.
The Arcata Tigers
