Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The McKinleyville Panthers will have the opportunity to complete a Big 5 and Charles Lakin tournament championship double on Friday night.

But standing in their way is the most successful team in the brief history of the tournament.

On Thursday, the Panthers took care of business in their semifinal matchup with St. Bernard’s, holding off a young but competitive Crusaders team for a 7-4 victory.

The win was the 13th straight for the Mack boys and sets up a rematch with a Eureka team that pushed them all the way in this year’s Big 5.

“It should be a good game,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “We’re excited for a championship game.”

Interestingly, the last team to beat McKinleyville was the Loggers, although the Panthers took two of three conference games from their rivals, which ultimately was the difference in the race for the conference pennant.

In Thursday’s other semifinal, the Loggers comfortably beat Ferndale 9-2.

The Panthers, however, will be a much tougher matchup and they are playing better baseball than any other team in the H-DNL this spring.

And while the Crusaders, who started two freshmen and five sophomores on Thursday, battled hard for much of the night, they had no real answer for the hottest hitting team on the North Coast.

Eight different McKinleyville plays combined for 13 hits, including shortstop Bryce Sargent who led the way and was 3-for-4.

“It was a good team win tonight,” Dobrec added. “St. Bernard’s, you’ve got to give them credit. They came out and played well. Coach (Matt) Tomlin is a good coach.”

Kolbey Stolpe, Hunter Carper and Tyson Bragg each had two hits for the Panthers, who improved to 20-4 with the win, with Stolpe and Carper each also driving in a pair of runs.

Jackson Kelly was 1-for-3 with an RBI, with Tenoch Tapia, Evan Fraser and Riles Egbert adding one hit each.

Fraser pitched a complete game for the win, and while it wasn’t his best performance of the season he did enough along with his defense to keep the Crusaders at arm’s length.

Fraser gave up 10 hits and just one walk in seven innings, while striking out five.

“That was the most hits Evan has given up this year. They swung the bat well,” Dobrec said.

The Crusaders started fast and took a two-run lead in the top of the first inning, but the Panthers would respond with five runs in the bottom of the second to open up a four-run advantage.

Sophomore Tyler Hinrichs was a bright spot once again for the Little 4 team as he continues his late-season surge.

Hinrichs finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored two runs, while Mateo Gutierrez and Mateo Reiman each finished 2-for-3, with Gutierrez driving in two runs and Reiman one.

Al three of those SB players have enjoyed big weeks in tournament play.

However, the Crusaders showed their inexperience with too many defensive miscues, which ultimately proved costly.

Michael Manzi got the start on the mound for St. Bernard’s and threw three innings before Luke Brunton took over.

Manzi gave up 10 hits to the red-hot McKinleyvile bats, but did not allow a walk and struck out three.

“We came out on fire,” Tomlin said. “Manzi pitched great but was hurt by poor team defense.”

The Crusaders rallied to score two runs in the top of the fifth to pull within two, but that was as close as they would get.

“We got several big hits from Hinrichs, Gutierrez and Reiman tonight,” Tomlin added. “Brunton was outstanding out of the bullpen and gave us a chance tonight.

“I’m super proud of my kids for continuing to battle against a great Mack team.”

Brunton gave up just two hits and one walk and struck out three.

With the loss, the Crusaders dropped to 13-12-1.

“Hats off to McKinleyville and a special shout out to the freshman Carper, who is playing great baseball, and Stolpe and Sargent, who make big-time plays for their team,” Tomlin said. “They are rolling and I wish them the best of luck in the playoffs.”

Friday night’s championship game is set for 7 p.m. at the Arcata Ball Park.