Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Del Norte pitcher Preston Daniels reacts during Wednesday’s game at Belotti Field.

By Ray Hamill — After waiting 11 years for a Big 5 championship, the Del Norte Warriors were in no mood to share.

On Wednesday, four days after they clinched at least a co-championship, the Warriors traveled to Eureka with the chance to win the title outright, and they did not disappoint.

With senior ace Preston Daniels delivering on the mound once again and his defense giving him plenty of support, Del Norte won the game 6-2 to finish alone in first place.

And with McKinleyville taking care of business at Arcata, they needed the victory to avoid finishing as co-champs.

Daniels, who won every start in conference this year, was pivotal once again and struck out seven while giving up just three or four hits, depending on which scorekeeper you believe.

He helped his own cause with a couple of key hits.

The Warriors took an early three-run lead, but the Loggers would respond with a big two-RBI hit by freshman Bryson Burns in the bottom of the third to pull within one.

The Warriors would respond in the top of the fifth, adding to their lead when Daniels scored to make it 4-2.

Ben Shrewsberry and Daniels each had RBI hits in the top off the sixth to add two more insurance runs and that would prove to be more than enough for the conference champs.

“They worked the counts pretty good,” Del Norte head coach Jeff Cook said of his players. “Our guys have been doing that well this year.”

That wasn’t always the case for this program and one of the key differences this spring — in addition to Daniels’ outstanding season on the mound — has been the timely hits from throughout the lineup.

“I feel like last year we had guys on the whole time and couldn’t hit them in,” Cook said. “And this year, we’re getting those hits.”

Several players finished with multiple hits in the win, including Aidan Rice, who scored the opening run of the day in the top of the first to get the offense rolling early.

Anthony Cardenas, who has one of the most consistent bats in the Big 5 this year, also had two hits, as did Greyson Franklin, who added two RBIs and also walked to reach base.

Saxon Taylor and Landon Williams each added a base hit, with the latter also walking four times and scoring a pair of runs.

And that wasn’t all from Williams.

“He had a pretty good game at shortstop too,” Cook said of the sophomore standout.

The entire Del Norte defense came ready to play.

“Our defense was solid behind (Daniels) today,” the head coach said. “They made the plays. We just grinded it out.”

Michael Jewell had one of four base hits for the home team, as did Cole Zeller, Garret Levitt and Burns.

Ty Crawford got the start on the mound and took the loss for the Loggers, with Royce Olson and Burns both pitching in relief.

Despite the loss, the Loggers finished third in the Big 5 and will advance to next week’s Charles Lakin tournament, opening on Tuesday against Ferndale.

As conference champs, the Warriors will have an opening-round bye as they look to follow the Big 5 title with a first-ever Lakin tournament championship.

And with just two losses in their last 18 games, few people would bet against them doing just that.

“The kids are excited,” Cook said. “It’s been a while (since we won league) and they all knew that.”