By Ray Hamill — It was a day of mixed fortunes for the H-DNL’s No. 1 seeds in the North Coast Section softball playoffs on Friday.

The McKinleyville Panthers comfortably took care of business against visiting Clear Lake in Division-5 action, scoring six runs in the bottom of the second on the way to a 10-0 win in five innings.

Senior catcher Bailee Box ended the game early with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning that put her team up by 10, while pitcher McKennah Sargent threw a no-hitter on her way to the victory in the circle.

The win sets up a semifinal at McKinleyville High School on Tuesday against either No. 4 Miramonte or No. 5 South Fork, who play each other on Saturday afternoon.

The Del Norte girls, however, lost their playoff opener in Division-3 action on Friday.

The Big 5 champs, who had a midweek opening-round bye, welcomed Freedom to Crescent City and fell 7-4 to end their season.

In other NCS playoff games on Friday, the Ferndale Wildcats fell 7-2 at No. 1 seed Kelseyville in the Division-6 bracket.

Three days after they posted their first playoff win in eight years, a young Ferndale team saw its season end.

But with most of their players set to return next spring, the future appears bright for the program.

“Like we told the girls afterwards, we’re still a young team, and they improved as the season went on,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said.

With their victory over Clear Lake, the Panthers are the last remaining Big 5 team in the NCS playoffs.

The Mack girls have had an up-and-down campaign but appear to be peaking at an opportune time.

Check out video highlights of Bailee Box’s walk-off home run above …

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Friday’s game at McKinleyville.

Submitted photo – McKinleyville’s battery of pitcher McKennah Sargent and catcher Bailee Box celebrate Friday’s win.

They reached last week’s Charles Lakin tournament final, before barely losing to Fortuna, and Friday’s win was their sixth in their last seven games.

They started fast on Friday.

Liana Stumpf singled to reach base and would score a few minutes later on a passed ball to give the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish.

They added six runs in the second, and with Sargent dealing in the circle there was no way back for the visitors after that.

Stumpf drove in two runs to help key the big inning, while Sargent, Callyn McCullough and Leili Guerrero hit back-to-back-to-back RBI base hits.

The Panthers racked up eight hits in the win, including Box’s home run and doubles by Sargent, McCullough ad Taylor Wade.

Sargent finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while teammate Baylie Grooms also had a base hit.

Sargent pitched all five innings and did not walk anyone while striking out seven.

The Panthers defense had just one error on the day.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, managed just one hit in their loss to the top seeds in their bracket, but walked eight times to give themselves a chance at the upset.

Danica Dowd had the team’s only hit of the day.

“We had base runners on but just could not get the big hit,” Griffith said. “And their pitcher did a good job keeping us off balance.”

Ferndale sophomore Olivia Gossi also impressed in the circle and held the Kelseyville bats to just three hits, while striking out six.

The home team, however, plated three runs in the first inning and two in the second to take control of the game and it was an uphill battle for the Wildcats after that.

“It was a tough game,” Griffith added. “They are a defensive team and made plays on the ball.”

Despite the loss, the season should be considered a success for the young Wildcats, with several players impressing over the past couple of months.

Junior team leader Madison Gossi had a big campaign, playing catcher for the first time in high school and impressing at the new position, while her younger sister continues to grow in the circle and should only return stronger than ever next year.

Junior Tinnley Pidgeon missed much of the season after picking up an injury late in the basketball season, but returned with a bang late in the spring.

Having her on hand for a full season next year should also benefit the team.

Other players also impressed this year, including sophomore second baseman Fallon Bullman, whose hard work in the offseason paid big dividends in a breakout season for the youngster, while versatile junior Quinn Stokesberry played multiple positions and played them all well.