File photo – Michael Manzi

Senior Tyler Maples led the way at the plate as the St. Bernard’s Crusaders stretched their winning streak to six straight games in baseball with a comfortable 14-1 win over South Fork in Little 4 action in Miranda on Tuesday afternoon.

Maples finished 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs and also scored three runs, as the surging SB boys improved to 3-0 in conference and 8-3 overall.

All 15 players on the Crusaders roster got at least one at-bat each and head coach Matt Tomlin used five different pitchers.

“This was a very productive game,” the coach said.

Michael Manzi got the win on the mound, throwing 2.1 innings of no-hit ball and striking out three while walking two.

Manzi also was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and scored four runs.

Tyler Hinrichs and Luke Brunton each also saw time on the mound and both threw 1.1 innings of no-hit ball, with TC Rinker and Quentin Ikeya also pitching in the win.

Impressive sophomore Mateo Reiman finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the win, while Hinrichs continued to show patience at the plate and added a double and three walks on his way to scoring twice.

Kael Puno and Travis “T-Bone” way each finished 1-for-3 for South Fork, which dropped to 1-2 in conference play and 3-6 overall.

Puno also drove in Cody Wheeler for the Cubs’ lone run, but the Cubs struck out 13 times, including six times looking.

“We need to be better with two strikes,” South Fork head coach Alex Finn said. “We need to be better with one strike. We just need to be better at the plate.”

The team defense also had problems coming out of the starting gates, as the Crusaders scored four runs in the top of the first to take control.

“We just had some mental lapses in the first inning, and after that it was hard to play catchup,” Finn added. “We’ve got to play better defense. We’ve got to take outs when they’re given to us. You can’t give these better teams extra chances.”

Way got the start on the mound for the home team and threw five innings of solid ball to give his team a chance.

The two schools will play each other again on Thursday at St. Bernard’s, with first pitch set for 4 p.m.

In the other Little 4 game on Tuesday, the Ferndale Wildcats got their first conference win, beating Hoopa 12-4.

The Warriors, Cubs and Cats are all now tied for second in the standings, two games behind St. Bernard’s.