A number of younger players have been stepping up early in the new season for the Ferndale softball team and that continued to be the case on Tuesday.

The Wildcats traveled to Weaverville to play a doubleheader against Trinity and split, taking game one 6-5 in eight innings and dropping game two 10-7.

Sophomore Olivia Gossi turned in another strong performance for the visitors in the pitchers’ circle and finished the day with 21 strikeouts, including an impressive 17 in game one despite playing in warm conditions for the first time this season

“It was not a comfortable day to throw 15 innings, but she battled her way through,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “She’s really made strides from her freshman to sophomore years.”

Freshman Randi Rice also impressed for the Wildcats as she quickly adapts to the high school level.

The newcomer came up clutch in the opener with a big double that drove in two of her team’s four runs in the extra inning.

And that would prove to be decisive in a one-run game.

Rice led the Cats at the plate in the win and finished 2-for-4.

She continued to showcase her power at the plate in game two with a two-RBI triple.

As the final score would suggest, the opening game was a close one.

The home team struck early and led 1-0 for much of the game, but the Cats would answer with two runs in the top of the fifth.

The Wolves tied things up in the bottom half of that inning and the two teams would remain deadlocked through the seventh.

Both teams would add to their tally in the eighth, with Rice’s clutch base hit keying a four-run inning for the visitors.

The Wolves answered with three runs in their half of the inning, but the Cats held on late for the narrowest of winning margins.

Fallon Bullan, Caleigh Griffith and Rainy Rodriquez each also had a hit for Ferndale in the win.

The Wolves led early in game two, putting up four runs in the first two innings to take control.

The Cats clawed their way back to within one with runs in the third and fourth innings, but the Wolves quickly pulled away again with four more runs in the bottom of the fourth.

The Cats once again pulled back within one with four runs of their own in the top of the sixth, but once again the Trinity bats answered with two more runs in the sixth to give them a three-run cushion going into the final inning.

And that would prove to be enough to salvage a share of the spoils on the day.

In addition to Rice’s big hit, Alayna Cooney also had a triple for the Cats in game two, while Bullan added a double and Rainy Rodriguez finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Ferndale’s Danica Dowd also impressed at the plate in game two and was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run.

Madison Gossi and Olivia Gossi rounded out a nine-hit team performance in the loss.

With the split, the Cats are now 3-3 on the season.

They will continue their preparation for conference play at Arcata on Friday, with first pitch set for 4 p.m.