Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Royce Olson delivers a pitch for the Loggers at the Arcata Ball Park on Tuesday.

The Eureka Loggers blew open a tight game with six runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on the way to a 10-1 win over South Fork in the opening round of the Charles Lakin tournament at the Arcata Ball Park on Tuesday.

With the victory, the Loggers move on to Thursday’s semifinal, where they will face Little 4 champion Ferndale.

There was little to separate the two teams early on, with the Loggers taking a two-run lead in the bottom of the third before the Cubs cut the deficit in half on a Justin Freitas RBI single in the top of the fifth.

However, the game got away from South Fork in bottom half of the inning.

“Errors and walks in the fifth inning killed us,” South Fork head coach Chris Contreras said.

Royce Olson pitched five innings for the win on the mound, before the reliable arm of Jorge Lopez took over and helped seal the win.

Lopez allowed just one hit and no walks in two innings and struck out two.

“He continues to be the guy we can count on,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said. “That’s what we’ve come to expect of him.”

Interestingly, the Cubs out-hit the Loggers 4-3 despite losing the game.

“We were a little slow out of the starting gates again,” Gale said. “I think we woke up a little bit (in the fifth), but we certainly have some adjustments to make and I think it starts with focus and the energy level. We’ve got to be ready to go from the first pitch.”

Cooper Ohlsen finished 1-for-2 in the win, while Ty Crawford was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and also scored a run.

Eureka’s Robert Williams also was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and scored a run.

Olson gave up just one earned run on three hits in five innings, but also walked four and struck out four.

Six errors did not help matters for the Cubs, although pitcher Broc Contreras did a good job on the mound.

The senior standout, who is enjoying an impressive spring, threw the first four innings and kept his team in the game, while allowing just one earned run and one walk and striking out seven.

Broc Contreras also was 1-for-3 with a walk, while Seam Hartzell was 1-for-1 and scored South Fork’s only run of the game.

Freitas also was 1-for-3 with a walk and Trevor Hunt and Travis “T-Bone” Way each finished 1-for-3.

The Cubs still have plenty to play for and will be expected to make some noise in the North Coast Section playoffs.

They are currently ranked No. 3 in Division 6, according to MaxPreps, as the same group of players who won a NCS title in football and made it to an NCS final in basketball look to continue a big year for the school in the playoffs.

“I hope that, again, we can clean up our errors going into the playoffs,” Chris Contreras said. “If we can minimize errors I really feel we have a good shot at another D-6 title, which would be a heck of a run for these three-sport athletes here.

“I’m hoping that is motivation enough for most of these kids.”

Thursday’s Charles Lakin tournament semifinal between Eureka and Ferndale is set for 4 p.m.