File photo – Myra Hayes

The Fortuna Huskies have been one of the most impressive H-DNL teams early in the new softball season and that continued to be the case on Tuesday.

The Huskies welcomed the St. Bernard’s Crusaders to Fortuna and rolled to a 13-1 win in five innings.

The victory was the fifth in six games this season for the Big 5 school.

And they took control quickly, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning and adding five more in the third on the way to ending the game early.

Myra Hayes got the win in the circle, allowing just one hit in 4.2 innings, while walking five and striking out four.

Seven Fortuna girls combined for 10 team hits, including sophomore Evalynn Little, who was 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs.

Senior Mariah Bravo hit her second home run of the season and went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Isabel Sanchez and Sophia Castillo each also had a good game at the plate and both finished 2-for-3, while Hayes, Hailee Thompson and Faith Helms each also had a base hit.

Helms helped set the tone defensively form behind the plate and picked off a pair of SB runners in scoring position.

The Crusaders, meanwhile, dropped to 2-3 on the season.

One day after they got the better of Arcata 8-4, the St. Bernard’s bats never really got going against the Huskies.

Bailee White and Tally Williams each had a base hit in the loss, while Oni Orcutt took the loss in the circle.

The sophomore pitcher allowed nine hits and one walk in four innings against the high-flying and experienced Fortuna bats, while the SB defense struggled to give her much support.

“It was a tough game for us today,” St. Bernard’s head coach Hailey Wilson said. “We struggled defensively with too many errors, and against a strong team that’s tough to overcome.

“We have to learn from this, clean up the mistakes and come back stronger.”

The Crusaders will try to get back to winning ways when they travel for the Biggs tournament this coming weekend.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to regroup, compete and show what we’re capable of,” Wilson said.

Willits 12, Ferndale 9

The Wildcats finally got their new season under way after a long run for the school’s girls basketball team.

The Ferndale girls traveled to Willits and came up just short in a high-scoring showdown against the Wolverines, who were playing their fourth game of the year.

The Cats put up runs in four of the first six innings, including three scores in both the second and fifth.

The team defense, however, is still a work in progress early in the season.

“I thought there were bright spots with our bats, with it being our first game,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “We’ve still got to make some improvements defensively if we want to compete in league this year. 

“But the girls have a good attitude and they’re working hard.”

Senior Rainy Rodriguez led the Wildcats at the plate and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, while junior teammate Alayna Cooney finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Senior Yajaira Cantu-Mendez also made some noise at the plate and went 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs.

Sophomore Olivia Gossi took the loss in the circle, giving up five earned runs and striking out eight.

Next up, the Wildcats are scheduled to host Hayfork in a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon.