File photo – Brian Richards

The Hoopa Warriors took a big step towards qualifying for this year’s Charles Lakin tournament with a 13-2 win at South Fork on Thursday.

The Warriors scored six runs in the top of the first inning to quickly take control of the game and added four more in the third and three more in the fifth to end the game early.

Brian Richards had a big day at the plate and went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and a double and five RBIs.

And he wasn’t the only Hoopa player to impress.

Brandon Romero, Carlos Anzora, Allen Kane and Lyle McKinnon each also had multiple hits.

Romero finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, while Anzora was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and Kane and McKinnon each was 2-for-3.

Tristan Billings capped a good week with a double, while Barrett Myers also had a double, giving the Warriors eight extra-base hits.

“Hoopa came out swinging the bats and really really showed a lot of intensity right out of the gates,” South Fork head coach Alex Finn said. “Nothing bad on our part, they just hit the ball.

“Lyle, Allen, Brian and Brandon from Hoopa have all developed into terrific ball players, with the rest of the team following their lead.”

McKinnon got the win on the mound, pitching 4.1 innings and striking out seven, with Kane throwing the final two-thirds of an inning.

The two Hoopa pitchers combined to give up just one hit.

John Stafslien, who is enjoying a good spring for South Fork, got his team’s only hit of the day and also stole three bases and scored a run, while teammate Cody Wheeler walked twice and also scored a run.

Bo Ayala had an RBI on a sac fly.

File photo – Hoopa’s Brandon Romero

“We’re still young and still learning,” Finn added. “I hope some of the struggles we are having this year resonates with the team and we can learn from our mistakes and become better going forward.”

Travis “T-Bone” Way pitched the opening three innings before taking a line drive to the elbow, forcing him from the game.

Yoshi Hatch took over on the mound and pitched “extremely well for a sophomore in his first year of high school baseball,” according to his coach.

Hatch has been getting meaningful innings down the stretch of the season and has been a bright spot for the team.

With the win, which was their third in four games against South Fork in conference play, the Warriors improved to 3-5 in the Little 4 and 10-7 overall.

The Cubs dropped to 1-7 and 5-11.