File photo – Ben Lukens

Some strong pitching and timely hitting lifted the Arcata Tigers to a doubleheader sweep against Fortuna in Big 5 baseball on Saturday.

The Tigers won game one 6-1 and followed that with a 15-0 win in five innings in game two as they improved to 4-7 in conference and 12-10 overall.

With the two losses the Huskies closed out the Big 5 0-12.

The two wins ended a five-game losing skid for the Arcata boys.

Ben Lukens pitched five innings for the win in game one, and Tanner Kees followed that with a complete-game performance on his way to the victory in game two.

“I think that we’re a pretty good team when our pitchers get on the mound and dominate like they did today,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said.

Lukens struck out seven and walked just one in the opener, as the Tigers overcame an early one-run deficit.

Finn Warner threw the final two innings in relief and struck out two.

Eli Joachim had two hits in the win, while Colton Adams added a double.

Lukens, AJ Greenway and Charlie Mager each also had a base hit for Arcata.

E’Angelo Payne had Fortuna’s only hit in game one, while Conner McClendon and Tanner Franklin combined on the mound to keep their team in the game until late.

The Tigers led 3-1 going into the sixth, when they added three more runs to give them some breathing room.

File photo – Tanner Kees

Game two was a different story, as the Tigers scored eight runs in the first to take control and give Kees a big cushion.

Kees threw four innings for the win and struck out two, with Finn Warner throwing the final inning to close out the game.

Warner also had a big game at the plate and finished 2-for-4 with his first-ever varsity home run.

“He’s been working hard and it was great to see him rewarded,” Ghisetti said.

Greenway, Mager and Emilio Medina each also had two hits in the win, while Kees, Lukens and Gavin Anderson each had one.

Liam Garona added a base hit and also reached base on a hit-by-pitch twice.

“The middle and bottom of our lineup stepped up for us,” Ghisetti said. “It was a great overall team effort.”

Mager had a big game in the No. 9 spot and also played some strong defense in the outfield.

Blayne Barrote had Fortuna’s only hit of the game.