The St. Bernard’s girls got the Little 4 off to a winning start with a doubleheader sweep in softball at Ferndale on Tuesday afternoon.

In a pair of games that were pushed back from a week ago, the visitors won game one 14-0 and took game two 12-2 in five innings.

The two victories lifted the Crusaders into a tie atop the early conference standings with the South Fork girls, who did not have any Little 4 games on Tuesday.

All in all, it was an impressive start to conference play for the SB girls, who are the defending conference champs, and the players showed no ill effects from a lengthy break since their last game.

“After a 10-day layoff this was a great way to open league,” St. Bernard’s head coach Hailey Wilson said. “The girls came out fired up for this doubleheader, and they delivered.”

Impressive sophomore Oni Orcutt got both wins in the circle and is enjoying a good season so far, carrying her pre-conference form into the Little 4.

Orcutt allowed just three hits and three walks in seven innings in the opener and struck out five.

She was just as impressive in game two, throwing another complete game and striking out five.

And she got plenty of support from her teammates.

“Defensively, we stayed sharp,” Wilson said. “I’m super proud of how the girls kept the energy up.”

It was a disappointing start to conference play for the Wildcats, who were battling some sickness and injuries.

Danica Dowd led the Cats at the plate in the opener and finished 2-for-3, while teammate Caleigh Griffith was 1-for-3.

But that was all they could muster against Orcutt and her defense.

“Oni did a really good job keeping us off balance all day,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said of the SB ace. “She hit her spots and the St. Bernard’s defense backed her up.”

So too did the SB offense.

Bailee White led the Crusaders at the plate in game one, finishing 2-for-2 with a double, and she reached base five times, twice on walks and once on a hit-by-pitch.

Logan Tallman and Kyna Tupua also made some noise at the plate for the visitors and were 1-for-3 with three walks each, while teammate Sarah Luna was 1-for-3 and walked twice.

Olivia Gossi pitched both games for the Cats, with a complete-game performance in each.

The Ferndale sophomore struck out six in game two and walked just three.

White capped a big day at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a double in that game, while teammate MaKinsey Lemley also was 3-for-4 with a double.

Orcutt helped her own cause by going 2-for-3 and also reached base on a hit-by-pitch, and Tallman finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.

Tupua added a double for SB, while Luna was 1-for-3 and Anna Dorsch was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Madison Gossi led the Cats at the plate in game two and finished 2-for-3, while Alayna Cooney was 1-for-2 and Dowd, Fallon Bullan and Caleigh Griffith each went 1-for-3, with the latter also driving in a run.

With the losses, the Cats dropped to 0-2 in conference and 3-6 overall, while the Crusaders improved to 2-0 and 8-5.

Next up, on Thursday, the SB girls will entertain South Fork (2-0 in the L4) in a doubleheader with the conference lead on the line, while Ferndale hosts two games against Hoopa.