File photo by Matt Filar/Humboldt Crabs Baseball

Go Mudcats!

That will be the rallying cry for the Humboldt Crabs on Saturday as the race for second place in the Pacific Empire League goes down to the wire.

On Friday night, the Lincoln Potters broke a deadlock with the Crabs for second in the standings with a comfortable 13-1 win over the Solano Mudcats.

The Crabs now need the Mudcats to win back-to-back games against the Potters on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon if they are to finish second in the PEL standings and claim a spot in the inaugural league championship series, which begins on Tuesday night.

The Crabs, who lost a non-league game against the California Tigers by a score of 11-8 on Friday night, have closed out league play with a record of 14-12 and are now half a game behind the Potters (14-11).

The Healdsburg Prune Packers are 22-5 and have already guaranteed themselves a place in next week’s league deciding series.

Friday night’s game at the Arcata Ball Park did not go the Crabs’ way, as the visiting Tigers scored seven runs in the top of the fifth on their way to victory.

The home team made five errors in the loss.

McKinleyville’s Cameron Saso took the loss on the mound after giving up six runs — three earned — on nine hits and two walks in four innings.

Saso also struck out three.

Eureka’s Hayden Bode threw three solid innings in relief, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk and striking out four.

At the plate, the Crabs were out-hit 14-11 in the high-scoring showdown.

Antonio Avila, Billy Ham, Keoni Coloma and Michael Mckernan each had two hits for the Crabs, including doubles by Ham, Coloma and Mckernan.

Eureka’s Parker Rodgers continued to impress after his recent return to the lineup from injury and finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and two walks, while another former Eureka Logger, Keenan Morris, went 1-for-3 with  two walks and a run.

The two clubs will continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday night, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m., before closing out the series on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.