File photo – Prescott Langer

The Ferndale Wildcats scored five runs in the top of the second inning to take control of their game at South Fork on Tuesday.

The Cats won the game 9-4, improving to 8-3 in the Little 4 with one game remaining and 14-3 overall.

With the St. Bernard’s Crusaders winning their game at Hoopa on Tuesday and clinching the conference championship outright, Ferndale is now guaranteed to place second in this year’s Little 4.

“The main thing is we took care of business and got another league win,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. 

South Fork, meanwhile dropped to 1-10 in the Little 4 as a young team continues to learn and adapt to the varsity level.

“Ferndale is a well-coached and a difficult opponent,” said first-year South Fork head coach Alex Finn, who describes his team as a JV roster playing varsity baseball. “Justin knows what he’s doing because he’s been it for a long time.”

Prescott Langer pitched four innings for the win on the mound, giving up just one hit and one walk and striking out three.

Freshman Cade Renner and sophomore Colton Renner each pitched an inning in relief.

Langer also had a good day at the plate and was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run, while Jonah Anderson was 2-for-3 with two runs and RBI.

Tanner Pidgeon also made some noise at the plate in the win and was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Tristen Titus was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a run and Cash Mobley had an RBI.

Several of the younger Ferndale players got some much-needed playing time.

“I got our bench in the game and gave some people some opportunities,”  Andersen said. “It was a good opportunity for us to see some people in different situations and see how they handled it.”

File photo

In particular, Titus had some good at-bats for the Cats and Colton Renner showed some poise on the hill getting out of a late jam.

Sophomore Cody Wheeler continued to impress on the mound for the Cubs and is closing out his second season at the varsity level strong.

“Cody Wheeler kept us off balance and threw strikes,” Andersen said.

Yoshi Hatch and the team’s lone senior, Sean Hartzell, each pitched in relief, with the latter impressing and getting three quick outs in the final inning.

“It was a great moment for him,” Finn said of the senior, who also had a base hit and drove in two of his team’s runs.

Travis “T-Bone” way also made some noise at the plate and on the bases and was 2-for-2 with five stolen bases.

Wheeler also had an RBI.

File photo

“It was a good day and the kids stayed competitive,” Finn said. “It was a beautiful day for baseball.”

The Cubs also lost a non-conference game on Saturday, falling 13-3 at St. Vincent de Paul.

Impressive freshman Mason Bell, who has been a big bright spot all season for the Cubs, finished 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base in that game, while Sheyne Casey also had a base hit and a stolen base, as did Way.

Shawn Schmidt also was 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and Kael Puno had two stolen bases.

“It was another learning experience for us,” Finn said.

The Wildcats and Cubs will close out the regular season in a game at Ferndale on Thursday afternoon at 4.