File photo – The McKinleyville Panthers won 7-0 on Saturday.

Sophomore Joe Tanno pitched a complete-game four-hitter against the Fortuna Huskies on Saturday, as the McKinleyville Panthers kept their Big 5 championship hopes on track.

The defending conference champs were scheduled to play a pair of games against Fortuna at McKinleyville High, but the two teams managed to get just one game in before the weather forced them to postpone game two to Monday.

The game was one of six in the Big 5 that were affected by the weather, setting up a busy day of make-up games for the conference on Monday.

But the Panthers took care of business in their game to keep pressure on the Big 5 leading Del Norte Warriors, who had a bye on Saturday.

And Tanno played a big part in the win, throwing seven strong innings and giving up just four hits.

The young standout got plenty of help from his teammates.

“Tanno threw great,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “We played defense behind him and the kids stayed focused for the conditions we had. We didn’t make any bad throws.

“It was a good team win for us today.”

The pitcher got also got more than enough offensive support with six team hits.

Riles Egbert, who has been playing like a man determined to make up for lost time since returning from injury two weeks ago, led the way on offense.

The senior catcher missed several weeks of action earlier in the campaign, but you wouldn’t know it from the way he’s been playing recently.

He continued too impress on Saturday and was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

And he’s not only player who has been playing well on a loaded McKinleyvile lineup.

Pat Wilson and Tate Saso each also made some noise at the plate on Saturday and both finished 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Jake Brunner was 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Jackson Kelly also had a hit in the win, while Bryce Sargent drove in a run.

“Pat and Riles hit the ball well today,” Dobrec said.

With the win, the Panthers improved to 6-1 in the Big 5 and moved within one win of Del Norte (7-1) with a game in hand.

The Huskies held the Panthers in check early in the game, but the home team began to take control with four runs in the bottom of the third inning.

They added a run in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

The Fortuna bats accounted for four hits on the day, led by hard-hitting senior Chandler Crenshaw, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles.

File photo – Pat Wilson, center, continues to hit the ball well for the Panthers.

Tanner Franklin and E’Angelo Payne each also had a base hit for the Huskies.

Conner McClendon, Blayne Barrote and Casey Moore all saw time in the mound for the visitors.

With the loss, the Fortuna boys dropped to 0-8 in the Big 5 and 3-14 on the season.

“I thank Fortuna for showing up and getting the game in with us,” said Dobrec, who also expressed his appreciation to the umpires.

The Panthers are now 15-4 overall.

Monday’s game is set for 4 p.m.