The Arcata Tigers continued their preparation for the upcoming Big 5 schedule with victories over Fortuna and St. Bernard’s on Saturday.

With the Fort Bragg tournament canceled due to the weather, the Tigers, Huskies and Crusaders played three games against each other at the Bear River Casino Resort all-weather field.

The Crusaders got the day started with a 6-2 win over the Huskies, before the Tigers also defeated Fortuna 16-1 in five innings.

Arcata and St. Bernard’s then closed out the day’s action, with the Tigers winning 5-1.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said. “We’re kind of ramping up for league. Our league is going to be tough this year.

“I thought we swung the bats pretty well. Defensively we made some miscues, but we’re still learning.”

The Arcata bats racked up 13 hits against Fortuna, with eight different players hitting successfully.

Senior AJ Greenway led the way as he continues his impressive start to the new season, finishing 3-for-3 with a double, while Anthony Ebert also impressed and was 2-for-3 with a double.

Finn Warner also was 2-for-3 in the win, while teammate Emilio Medina went 2-for-4.

Tanner Kees got the victory on the mound, allowing one earned run on just one hit and one walk in four innings and striking out eight.

Kees, Ben Lukens, Gavin Anderson and Elijah Joachim each also had a base hit in the win, while Jonah O’Brien pitched one hitless inning in relief to close out the game.

“We’re starting two freshmen and a sophomore that have no varsity experience and they’re learning on the fly,” Ghisetti added. “And they’re doing a very good job for us.”

Tanner Franklin finished 1-for-2 for the Huskies’ only base hit of the game.

No other stats were immediately available for Fortuna.

The Tigers continued to roll against St. Bernard’s.

Lukens had a big game in the win, leading the way at the plate and getting the victory on the mound.

The senior standout finished 2-for-4 on offense and threw six innings.

He did not allow an earned run and struck out seven while walking three.

Kees and freshman Joe Wellik each went 1-for-2 in the win, while Warner was 1-for-3 and Ebert and Medina each was 1-for-4.

Warner also pitched one inning in relief, walking two and striking out one.

T.C. Rinker finished 1-for-2 for the Crusaders and scored his team’s only run of the game, while teammate Adam Wagner was 1-for-1.

Michael Manzi took the loss on the mound for S. Bernard’s.

The junior pitcher threw four innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and four walks, while striking out five.

Fresh off an impressive winter on the basketball court, junior Tyler Hinrichs threw three scoreless innings in relief, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out three.

Earlier in the day, the Crusaders got their season off to a winning start against Fortuna.

Garrett Shanahan got the win on the mound, giving up one run on six hits and one walk in 4.2 innings and striking out three.

Luke Brunton threw 2.1 innings in relief for the save, allowing one run on one hit and no walks and striking out one.

Just four days after he closed out an impressive season on the basketball court, Brunton also led the Crusaders at the plate against the Huskies.

He finished 2-for-3 with a double and scored two runs.

Manzi also made some noise at the plate and was 1-for-3 with a double and scored a run, while teammate Mason Noel was 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI.

S. Bernard’s Mateo Reiman also finished 1-for-2 and drove in a run, while Hinrichs was walked twice and scored a pair of runs and Tyler Maples had a sac fly and drove in a run.

“All in all it was a great day of baseball,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “The kids played hard for 14 innings and got better today.”

Once again there were no final stats immediately available for the Huskies, who dropped to 1-4.

Coaches are encouraged to forward details of their games to Humboldt Sports if they would like inclusion.

Afterwards Tomlin paid tribute to Bear River for allowing them to step in at the last minute to play the games on the all-weather field there.

“I am so thankful for the great people at Bear River for giving us an opportunity to play on their all-weather field,” the SB coach said. “They constantly give back to the youth in this community.”

Ghisetti also praised Tomlin for organizing the games at the last minute.

“I’ve got to give a big shoutout to coach Tomlin,” he said. “Within a couple of days he was able to reserve Bear River and his team came out and competed very well against us. It gave us an opportunity to get out and get some games in.”

Next up, the Crusaders will travel for the Yreka tournament next weekend, while the Tigers are scheduled to host Kelseville on Saturday, although Ghisetti says the game may be moved to Kelseyville on Friday depending on the field conditions.