Eureka senior Kaitlin Giacone and the Loggers closed out the 2024 season in thrilling fashion on Friday, securing a walk-off win against the Fortuna Huskies at Washington Elementary School.

In her final high school at-bat, Giacone hit a two-out base hit to drive in teammate Cassandra Breazeal to break a 7-7 tie and give the Loggers an 8-7 win.

The bases were loaded at the time, meaning the Huskies were unable to walk Giacone.

The victory ended a 14-game losing streak for a young Eureka team and it was their first in conference play since opening day.

“It was a great way for her to end her senior year,” Eureka head coach Cheyenne King said. 

Earlier in the day, the Huskies took game one of the conference ending doubleheader by a score of 4-2.

“The girls played great in both games,” King added. “I was just so proud of the way they kept their energy up. We came out hard really wanting to win our last game.”

Giacone had three hits on the day, including two in game two, while teammate Bailey Brown also had a hit in game one and scored a pair of runs.

Breazeal, Nashya Williams and Jaycee Childress each also had a hit for Eureka in game two.

For the Huskies, Kadence Mace was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Myra Hayes was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Mariah Bravo was 3-for-4.

The Huskies came into the day with an outside shot at a conference championship, depending on how Saturday’s games between Del Norte and Arcata would end up.

With the split they closed out conference play with a record of 8-4 and tied for second in the standings with McKinleyville.

In game one, Isabel Sanchez, Olivia Hayes, Myra Hayes, and Kadence Mace all had two hits for the Huskies, with Sanchez, Mace, Evelyn Little and Myra Hayes all finishing with an RBI. 

Giacone and Mallorie Beauchamp each had a hit for the Loggers in game one.

File photo – Kaitlin Giacone