File photo by Erik Fraser – Preston Daniels

The Del Norte bats woke up this week as the Warriors put a 1-4 start to the season behind them with a tournament championship at Yreka.

The Del Norte boys won three tournament games over three days on the way to claiming the tournament title for the second straight year.

They beat Etna 9-3 on Thursday and Mt. Shasta 8-2 on Friday before closing out tournament play with a 4-2 win over St. Bernard’s in an all-local matchup on Saturday.

Those three results, coupled with an 8-1 loss for McKinleyville against the host school, was enough to secure the tournament title.

It was also a nice response from the players after they lost 5-4 at Hoopa earlier in the week.

“The bats finally came alive,” said Del Norte head coach Jeff Cook, whose team crossed home plate 21 times over the three games. “We just came out swinging. I think the loss to Hoopa really woke us up.”

Saxon Taylor helped get the offense going with two big performances on Thursday and Friday.

The senior was 7-for-7 over the first two games and also reached base on a hit-by-pitch.

Aidan Rice also finished 2-for-4 in the tournament opener.

“Everybody was hitting,” Cook added. “If the bats come alive like that, it’s easier to play.”

The Del Norte pitchers also played their part, as the team improved to 4-4 on the season.

Junior Ben Shrewsberry got the win out of the bullpen on Thursday, throwing three plus solid innings in relief of starter Aidan Rice, who had a no-decision.

Sophomore Landon Williams got the win on the mound on Friday, and experienced senior Preston Daniels got the victory agains St. Bernard’s, holding the Crusaders bats to just two hits in six innings and striking out eight.

“Del Norte ace Preston Daniels kept us off balance with a great fastball/slider combination and pitched an outstanding game,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said.

Cook is hoping his players can keep the momentum going as they get set to travel for the Hidden Valley tournament next week, opening against Yreka on Friday.

They then open conference play at Arcata on April 5.

“We’ve definitely got experience,” Cook said. “Most of our seniors have played varsity since they were freshmen, and the younger group of guys I’ve got are baseball players.”