Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Arcata Tigers defeated Ygnacio Valey 6-0 on Tuesday.

By Ray Hamill — The Arcata Tigers and St. Bernard’s Crusaders won their North Coast Section baseball playoff openers on Tuesday, but it was a tough day for the other H-DNL teams in action.

Three pitchers combined for a no-hitter as the No. 2 Tigers comfortably took care of No. 15 Ygnacio Valley 15-0 in Division-5 action at Arcata High School.

Also in Division 5, No. 3 St. Bernard’s welcomed No. 14 Piner to Crusader Field and won 3-1.

If the Tigers and Crusaders win their weekend quarterfinals, they would face off in next week’s semifinal round.

Also on Tuesday, in Division 3, No. 8 Eureka lost 12-4 to No. 9 Washington at Belotti Field, while No. 3 Del Norte fell 12-1 to No. 14 Kelseyville.

And rounding out a busy day for the H-DNL schools, in Division 5 No. 11 Hoopa fell 14-0 at No. 6 Miramonte in five innings.

The playoff game was the Warriors’ first since 2011, but a 10-run fourth proved decisive for the Matadors, who will play at St. Bernard’s in quarterfinal action on Friday night at 5 p.m.

The Crusaders trailed by a run going into the bottom of the third inning of their game, but quickly pulled even and would take the lead with two runs in the fourth.

And with Michael Manzi and Luke Brunton enjoying a good afternoon on the mound, that would prove to be enough.

Manzi got the start and threw 5.2 innings for the win, allowing just one unearned run on four hits and six walks and striking out 10.

Brunton took over in the sixth and closed out the game, giving up one hit and no walks and striking out one for the save.

Manzi also had a double and scored one of his team’s runs, while Brunton was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Kyle Giacone in action for the Loggers

Senior Tyler Maples, who has been one of St. Bernard’s most consistent bats all spring, led the way at the plate and finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base.

All three of Maples’ base hits came on hard-hit balls.

“This was a solid opening-round win against a good Piner team,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “Their left-handed pitcher was tough on us, but the boys found a way to score just enough runs to pull out the victory.”

With the win, the Crusaders improved to 18-8.

The Arcata Tigers, meanwhile, welcomed back Anthony Ebert after he missed the past few weeks through injury and he had an immediate impact on his return.

Ebert combined with Finn Warner and Ben Lukens to no-hit the Wolves.

“It was great to have him back on mound,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said of the influential senior. “And I thought we swung the bats very well today.”

Lukens threw two very strong innings, allowing just one walk and striking out six, before Warner struck out two and walked three in two innings.

Ebert pitched the final inning.

“We were able to save our pitchers for the next round,” Ghisetti said. “I thought our pitchers came out and for the most part threw strikes.”

Junior Tanner Kees led the Tigers at the plate with another outstanding performance and finished the game 4-fot-4 with a pair of doubles.

Emilio Medina also had a big game in the win and was 3-for-4 with a double, while Charlie Mager went 2-for-2 and freshman Cash Smith finished 1-for-1, getting his first high school playoff hit.

Lukens, Warner, AJ Greenway and Joe Willik each also had a base hit in the win.

The performance was particularly impressive after a 10-day layoff for the Tigers and the win sets up a quarterfinal showdown against No. 10 De Anza, which defeated No. 7 Branson 3-1 on Tuesday.

That game will be played at Arcata this weekend.

The Tigers are now 14-11.

The Eureka Loggers, meanwhile, led Washington early in their game, but the visiting Huskies racked up eight runs in the top of the fourth and were able to hold on down the stretch.

“If we take out the fourth inning we have a decent chance at winning that ball game,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said. “That’s baseball.”

A bright spot for the Loggers was the performance of Royce Olson, who impressed on the mound and on offense.

In his final high school game, the senior pitched the final three innings and allowed just one hit and four walks while striking out five.

Olson also had a base hit and an RBI and stole two bases.

Freshmen Kyle Giacone and Brayden Bermers and sophomore Ryder Mitchell each also pitched for Eureka, while senior Cole Zeller finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Fellow senior Robert Williams also had a double, while Jesse Vazquez and Alex Jimenez each also had a hit in the loss.

“We made an effort to ensure the seniors got to get in the game and have a little fun one last time together,” Gale said. “These guys are such a great group and the seniors will be dearly missed.

“These guys have been with me since my first year of coaching when they were freshmen. We had a great last year together and I can’t wait to see what they do next.”

The seniors included Olson, Jimenez, Williams, Zeller, Jaydn Payton and Kyle Johnston.

The Loggers closed out the season 13-12.

The NCS baseball playoffs continue on Wednesday with McKinleyville and Ferndale both in action.