File photo – The South Fork Cubs moved two wins clear at the top of the Little 4 standings on Thursday.

Despite losing for just the second time in conference play on Thursday, the South Fork Cubs stretched their lead atop the Little 4 standings.

The Cubs, who have not won a conference championship in at least 24 years since before MaxPreps began keeping records, welcomed a surging Hoopa team to Miranda and split a doubleheader.

The Warriors won game one 6-2, but the Cubs bounced back to take game two 8-3.

With the split, the South Fork girls are now 6-2 in the Little 4 (14-4 overall) and sit two wins clear of the chasing pack after second-placed St. Bernard’s (4-4) lost both games of a high-scoring doubleheader against Ferndale.

The Warriors, who have won four of their last six games after starting the season 0-9, are now 3-5 in conference and tied for third with Ferndale.

“These young ladies are starting to play harder ball and it’s exciting to watch,” Hoopa head coach Jordee Colegrove-Avery said of her players.

The Warriors got the day off to an impressive start, with junior pitcher Monteya Colegrove setting the tone in the circle and striking out 17 in the opener.

“She played a good two games today,” her coach said of her pitcher, who also struck out six in game two..

Senior Millennia McKindley also had a big game in the win, finishing 2-for-3 and hitting her first home run of the season.

Sophomore Tylie McKinnon also impressed and was 2-for-4, while freshman Amakyarram Bennett Blake went 2-for-3 and hit a double down the left field line on her first at-bat of the day.

Freshman Calleigh Smith had a good game for the Cubs and finished 3-for-3 with a double, while Kendall Kercher and Raevyn Reveles each also had a double in the loss.

Freshman Leila Coleman took the loss in the circle, walking three and striking out four.

“In game one we struggled at the plate. We couldn’t get going,” South Fork head coach Lisa Todd said.  “Hoopa showed up to play, They were consistent on offense and defense and we were not.”

With her sister Mackenzie sidelined through injury, the younger Coleman took the circle again in game two and got the win with three strikeouts and two walks.

Junior Molly Perkins led the way at the plate in the win and was 3-for-4, while teammate Hailey Shepherd was 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Anora Blackwell was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Leila Coleman also had a double and two RBIs, while Trinity Crenshaw added a double and an RBI.

Junior left fielder Angela Hern, who has played a key role in her team’s recent good run, led the way for Hoopa in game two.

Hern “played amazing defense” in the outfield, according to her coach and also was 2-for-4 at the plate.

Fellow junior Tsisna McCovey also impressed and had a big RBI hit off the outfield fence, while Rikki Lipscomb was 3-for-3.

The game was tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the sixth, when the home team scored five runs to pull away late.

“We played hard through six innings,” Colegrove-Avery said. 

With four games remaining, the South Fork girls remain in the driver’s seat in the race for this year’s championship, but Todd is not getting carried away and knows anything can happen in a competitive conference.

“I warned the girls round two of league won’t be easy,” she said. “It’s anybody’s game and I hope they saw that today.

“We went from a consistent hitting lineup to only two or three girls getting on. We have a lot of work still to do in the next couple weeks.”