Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The McKinleyville players react during Tuesday’s game against Arcata.

By Ray Hamill — An exciting early-season softball matchup between two Big 5 rivals went right down to the wire at McKinleyville High School on Tuesday afternoon.

The host Panthers led the game for much of the afternoon, but the Arcata Tigers pushed them all the way thanks in large part to some clutch defense and they had an opportunity to tie things up in the top of the seventh.

However, the Panthers held on late to secure a 3-1 win and kept their unbeaten start to the new season going.

McKinleyville junior pitcher McKennah Sargent did not allow an earned run and held the Arcata bats to just four hits, while striking out an impressive 14.

She got plenty of support at the plate, as the Panthers racked up 10 base hits and had runners in scoring position in almost every inning.

But a clutch Arcata defense that appears to be growing in confidence got some timely outs to remain in the game as the Panthers stranded 11 runners on base.

“Defensively we have put in a ton of work and it showed today,” said first-year Arcata head coach Jason Miller, whose team committed just one error in their season opener.

The Panthers, however, did enough to get the win as they improved to 3-0.

They took the lead with their opening run in the bottom of the first inning and led the rest of the way, adding a second run in the third before the Tigers plated their only run of the afternoon in the top of the fourth.

The Mack girls added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth and both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the afternoon.

The Mack bats had 10 hits on the afternoon, including doubles by Taylor Wade, Jacey Parker and Baylie Grooms.

The impressive Liana Stumpf finished 2-for-3 and scored one of her team’s runs, while Wade finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and Sueveya Provolt and Grooms each went 2-for-3, with the latter also driving in a run.

Leili Guerrero also had a base hit in the win.

Josie Cunningham (1-for-2) helped anchor the Arcata defense with a strong performance at shortstop and also hit a double in the top of the seventh to give the Tigers runners at second and third with no outs.

However, the visitors were unable to capitalize, as Sargent and her defense got out of the jam to seal the victory.

Nallia Meyer (1-for-3) also had a double for the Tigers and scored their only run of the game, while Taylor Sutherland finished 1-for-3 and Alli Mitchell went 1-for-2.

“We had a few chances to get this game going our way but came up short at the plate,” Miller added. “The girls are playing for each other and the season looks bright.”

Riley Houston got the start in the circle for the Arcata girls and pitched a solid complete game, giving up just two earned runs on eight hits.

Houston showcased her control by allowing just one walk on the day.

Next up, the Tigers play at St. Bernard’s on Monday, while the Panthers play at Windsor on March 28.