File photo – Allen Kane

The Hoopa Warriors have qualified for the Charles Lakin tournament for the first time, and they’ll carry some momentum into the postseason tournament.

On Thursday, the Warriors traveled to St. Bernard’s and knocked off the Little 4 champs in their final regular-season game, winning 9-3.

Also in the Little 4 on Thursday, Ferndale closed out with a 10-0 win over Hoopa on senior day for the Wildcats.

Hoopa closed out the Little 4 with a record of 4-8 and their four conference wins are the most for the program since 2011.

The Warriors scored seven runs in the opening two innings of Thursday’s game and never trailed.

Allen Kane finished with three hits in the win, including his 13th double of the season, while freshman teammate Delmer Ferris added two hits.

Brandon Romero, Barret Myers, Lyle Mckinnon and Brian Richards each also had a base hit in the win.

Romero pitched a complete game for the win on the mound, giving up five hits and three walks and striking out 12.

It was senior day for the Crusaders, who had already clinched the conference championship outright, and head coach Matt Tomlin allowed his three seniors pitch the game while also giving some of younger players valuable playing time in the field.

“It was fun to watch our seniors get a chance to pitch and play catcher today,” the coach said. “And the younger kids swung the bats well and hit some balls hard.”

Seniors Tyler Maples (two innings), TC Rinker (three innings) and Adam Wagner (one inning) all saw time on the mound, along with junior Quentin Ikeya.

Maples also had an impact at the plate and the team captain finished 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI.

Parker Prior

Rinker also had a base hit and scored two runs, while Henry Hinrichs and Trenten Hagler each also had a base hit for the home team.

It was also senior day at Ferndale, as the Wildcats honored their three seniors, Jarrett Smith, Parker Prior and Jonah Anderson.

Smith, who has been injured late in the season, threw out the first pitch and was greeted by teammates when he left the mound, in what head coach Justin Andersen described as a “pretty cool moment.”

All three seniors are four-year varsity starters and helped lead the Cats to a conference and North Coast Section championship double as juniors.

“They all have made a significant impact on the program,” said Andersen, who also praised the contributions of their parents.

Prior pitched remainder of the game and gave up just one hit and four walks while striking out five.

File photo – Tyler Maples

Smith’s first pitch and the way his teammates greeted him after that “kind of set the tone for the game,” according to Andersen.

“We had good energy,” the Ferndale head coach said. “I let them, get after it and they did. We played good defense, had good urgency at the plate and definitely played better than Tuesday.”

Prior, who was conference MVP as a junior, also led the way at the plate and finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs.

Tanner Pidgeon was 1-for-2 and scored three runs, while Anderson was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs. 

Luke Dixon was 1-for-2 with two RBIs, Cash Mobley was 1-for-2 and scored a run and Cade Renner added an RBI.