File photo – Ferndale’s Parker Prior

The Ferndale Wildcats remain well in contention for this year’s Little 4 championship in baseball after securing their second win in three days over the Hoopa Warriors on Thursday.

On Tuesday, they won at Hoopa 12-4, and they followed that with a 15-5 win over the Warriors at Ferndale High.

The visitors struck first and led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning, but the home team made certain they would take care of business, scoring six runs in the bottom half of that inning to take control.

The Cats would add three more runs in the third and six more in the fourth to end the game early.

The victory lifts the Ferndale boys to 2-2 in conference and 7-2 overall, while the Warriors dropped to 1-3 and 6-5.

And the Cats won with a big performance from the top of their lineup, with the one through four hitters driving in 10 runs and scoring five.

“The top of our lineup really spearheaded today’s performance,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. “They were the driving force that kept us going.”

Starting pitching Precott Langer threw three strong innings for the win on the mound, with Jarrett Smith pitching the final two innings to help secure the victory.

Smith also led the way at the plate and was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while teammate Tristen Titus was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs.

Allen Kane continued to showcase his power at the plate for the visitors and finished 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.

The junior standout now has eight doubles on the year, twice as many as any of his teammates.

Teammate Brandon Romero also continued to impress and finished 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a run, while Lyle McKinnon and Brian Richards each also had a base hit in the loss.

Three different Hoopa pitchers — Richards, Carlos Anzora and Joshua White — all saw time on the mound.

The home bats combined for seven hits.

In addition to big days for Smith and Titus, Ferndale’s Tanner Pidgeon (1-for-2, three RBIs and two runs), Parker Prior (1-for-3, two RBIs, two runs) and Jonah Anderson (1-for-2, two RBIs) each also had a base hit.

Freshman Cash Mobley, who has been one of the most consistent young players in the entire H-DNL this spring, also had an RBI and scored three times, reaching base on a pair of walks and an error.

Mobley and Titus, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters for the Cats, combined for six runs and three RBIs.

“That’s always a plus,” Andersen said of the production from the 8 and 9 hitters.

The two wins this week was a nice response from a team that dropped its two conference openers to Little 4 leaders St. Bernard’s last week.

“The most important thing is we took care of business and didn’t let it linger,” the Ferndale head coach said. “There are still things we have to tighten up. We’re trying to iron out some stuff and build some momentum.”

Next up, the Wildcats wil host Round Valley in a single game on Friday at 3 p.m., before they return to conference play with two games against South Fork next Tuesday and Thursday.

The Warriors, meanwhile, will host Weed in a non-conference doubleheader on Monday before playing St. Bernard’s on Tuesday and Thursday.