Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Ferndale’s Alayna Cooney slides into home plate to score in game two of Thursday’s doubleheader against St. Bernard’s.

Thursday was a good day for the Ferndale softball team in more ways than one.

The Wildcats traveled to Samoa to play a Little 4 doubleheader and swept both games, defeating a short-handed St. Bernard’s team 15-8 and 27-16.

It was not only the Cats’ best offensive day of the season, but the two wins move them into a tie for third in the conference and they are now eligible for the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.

“Today was obviously one of our best days of the year swinging the bat,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “We had good at-bats up and down the lineup. The girls were patient.”

With the two wins, the Cats improved to 3-5 in the Little 4 and they are tied with the Hoopa Warriors, who split a doubleheader at South Fork.

The Cubs lead the conference standings with a record of 6-2, with St. Bernard’s now 4-4.

The Crusaders had just 10 players available on Thursday because of injuries and players out of town during the school’s spring break.

“We were short-handed and our underclassmen had to step up,” SB head coach Hailey Wilson said. “They rose to the challenge, gained valuable experience and showed they’re ready to compete.”

Several Ferndale players had big days, none more so than junior Madison Gossi, who hit two home runs and helped anchor the team defense from behind the plate.

Gossi finished 7-for-12 with 10 RBIs and hit a home run in each game, including a grand slam in game two.

She also caught a doubleheader for the first time in high school and “did a good job” behind the plate, according to her coach.

Her sister, sophomore Olivia Gossi, pitched two complete games for both wins in the circle and also had three hits and two RBIs on the day, while teammate Alayna Cooney had three hits and two RBIs in each game, while also scoring four runs in the second.

Defensively, Quinn Stokesberry filled in at shortstop for the first time and took to the new position quickly.

“I thought Quinn was pretty solid through both games,” Griffith said of the junior, who also had two hits and three RBIs on the day. “She learned as the day went on and made the plays she needed to make.”

Ferndale’s Caleigh Griffith continued to impress at the plate and was 7-for-10 with eight RBIs over the two games, while Danica Dowd had five hits and scored four runs in game one.

Rainy Rodriguez also impressed for the visitors, finishing 3-for-6 with three runs in game two, while Fallon Bullan had three hits over the two games and drove in two runs in game two.

Randi Rice also had three hits and drove in one of her team’s runs in game two.

“The hitting was just contagious today, and I thought we improved defensively from last week,” Jeremy Griffith said. “It was nice to get the wins.”

Despite the disappointment of losing two games, there were several bright spots for the home team, including the play of Chloe Grunden, who had two hits in each game and also walked three times, as well as Kyna Tupua, who was 3-for-3 with a walk in game one.

Logan Tallman also had two hits and a walk in game one, while Teghan Smith had two hits and Oni Orcutt and Anna Dorsch each had a hit.

Orcutt pitched both games for the Crusaders.

In game two for SB, Tierra Baty was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Tallman, Dorsch, Orcutt and Smith each also had a hit.