File photo – Luke Brunton

The St. Bernard’s Crusaders capped a perfect run through the opening half of their conference schedule in baseball with a 5-0 win at Hoopa on Thursday.

The SB boys have dominated their conference rivals so far, posting three shutouts on their way to a 6-0 record and they sit two wins clear of the chasing pack.

Their only remaining challengers for this year’s title are the Ferndale Wildcats, whom they play twice next week, and the Crusaders can take a huge step towards a championship with a split.

Luke Brunton led the way on Thursday with another big performance on the mound, as the junior standout improved his record to 4-0 on the season.

Brunton, who also has two saves, pitched six innings and gave up just two hits and a walk and struck out 11.

He also drove in two of his team’s runs.

But he wasn’t the only standout for the conference leaders, who are one of the hottest teams on the North Coast and have now won 11 straight games.

Fellow junior Michael Manzi is also playing at an MVP level and he finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple and also scored a run.

The ever-consistent Tyler Hinrichs also was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Garrett Shanahan was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Hinrichs also pitched the final inning to close out the victory and did not give up a hit.

The loss for the Warriors drops them to 1-5 halfway through the conference schedule, but they remain well in the chase for third in the Little 4 and a place in this year’s Charles Lakin tournament.

Allen Kane and Brian Richards each was 1-for-3 in the loss.

File photo – Hoopa’s Allen Kane

Lyle McKinnon pitched six innings for the Hoopa boys, who were in the game until late and trailed by just three heading into the final inning.

The senior team ace gave up six hits and two walks and struck out nine.

Kane threw the final inning and gave up two hits.

“I want to tip my cap to Hoopa players Lyle McKinnon, Allen Kane and Brandon Romero. Those three young men are terrific athletes, good baseball players and outstanding young men,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “:We have tremendous respect for them.”

Tomlin also praised the play of Brunton, whom he described as “dominant on the mound.”

Freshman Henry Hinrichs also had a good game for the visitors with some big plays at third base, while “Manzi, Brunton, (Tyler) Hinrichs and Shanahan paced an offensive attack that put together a good performance against a very good pitcher,” according to the SB coach.

Next up, the Crusaders will try to make it 12 straight wins when they travel to play a non-conference game at St. Vincent de Paul on Monday, before traveling to Ferndale for the first of the two big L4 showdowns the following day.

The Hoopa boys, who dropped to 8-7 overall, will host South Fork on Tuesday.

File photo – Michael Manzi