Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Del Norte girls celebrate their first ever Charles Lakin tournament championship on Friday evening.
By Ray Hamill — They had to battle all the way, but the Del Norte girls are Charles Lakin tournament champions for the first time in school history.
Just two days after clinching the Big 5 title, the Warriors capped a big week by completing the double and lifting the Lakin trophy after a 8-4 win over Fortuna in Friday’s final at the Arcata Sports Complex.
And they came ready to play.
One year after finishing runners-up in the H-DNL postseason tournament to Eureka, the Del Norte girls appeared determined to go one better this year, storming out to a 6-0 lead.
But the Huskies would not go down easily and they rallied to make a game of it, scoring four times in the top of the sixth to pull within two and make for an exciting finish.
Like true champions, however, the Warriors responded when they were challenged and added two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, which seemed to take the wind out of the Fortuna rally.
Del Norte pitcher Shay Nolan and her defense quickly retired the Huskies in order in the top of the seventh, including a spectacular catch by catcher Carlee Harper on a pop-up behind home plate.
“They are excited,” Del Norte head coach Aaron Healy said of his players afterwards. “This is a happy moment for these young ladies. They worked hard for this.
“We’ve had some injuries, but the girls stepped in and got the job done.”
Several players stood out for the champions, including Harper, who appears to be growing stronger as the season progresses and continues to impress on both sides of the plate. as well as on the bases.
Nolan also has played a huge role on this year’s team and stepped up on Friday in the absence of fellow pitcher McKenna Curtis, who sat out after taking a knock in Thursday’s semifinal win.
Audrey Phillips at first base and Tsinte Steinruck at third also made some plays in the final and gave the Warriors defense a pair of reliable gloves at either corner.
And they weren’t only stars on a memorable and breakthrough day for the Del Norte girls, who had twice previously finished runners-up in the Lakin tournament.
Madison Calleja also stepped up in the team’s biggest game of the season, while filling in for the injured Reece White, as did fellow outfielder Koy McQuillen.
“She did a great job in right field and she put the bat on the ball a couple of times,” Healy said of McQuillen. “Once again we showed we’ve got a lot of depth.”
Asked what has impressed him the most about this group of players, Healy responded without hesitation.
“Just their determination,” he said. “They don’t give up. There’s a lot of not letting things bother them and moving on and knowing the next at-bat is the most important.”
The celebrations began immediately after the final out.
“They’re floating on air,” Healy added of his players. “It was like the weight was lifted off their shoulders and they finally got over the hump.”
The Huskies to their credit showed a lot of fight and they would make things interesting in the top of the sixth.
Olivia Hayes led off the inning and reached base on an error, before back-to-back singles by Kadence Mace and Evelyn Little, the latter of which scored Hayes.
With one out, freshman Olivia Scilacci then hit a clutch base hit to score two more runs and cut the deficit to three.
Senior Ashley Jenks would score Scilacci moments later to narrow the gap further, but the Warriors would end the threat and get out of the inning with their lead still in tact.
“We never gave up,” Fortuna head coach Eric Helms said. “The kids continued to fight. All year they’ve had fight in them and they showed it today.”
Isabel Sanchez started in the circle for the Huskies and threw three innings before Myra Hayes came in to relieve her and helped settle her team into the game.
“I thought Myra did a good job stepping into pitch,” Helms said.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Harper was walked and she would score a few moments later on an error, before McQuillen singled to score Phillips and stretch the gap back out to four.
And that would prove to be more than enough for Nolan and her defense.
This was the third Charles Lakin final appearance for the Warriors, who had lost to Fortuna in the inaugural tournament back in 2015.
The Warriors become the fourth different school to win the Charles Lakin tournament since its inception in 2015.
Fortuna won the first three tournaments, while Eureka also has won three times, with McKinleyville winning it once during their historic treble season of 2019, when they also won the Big 5 and North Coast Section titles.
Both Del Norte and Fortuna will now turn their attention to next week’s NCS Division-4 playoffs with the brackets and seeds set to be announced this weekend.
The Warriors are ranked No. 3 in the division, one spot ahead of Fortuna, so these two Big 5 rivals could meet again.
“We kind of joked with the Del Norte coaches that hopefully we get to meet them again,” Helms said. “We’re both top four (in Division 4), so it could be in a semifinal or the final.”
Anyone who was in attendance on Friday would welcome a rematch.
