Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Cooper Ohlsen in action for the Humboldt Eagles at the Arcata Ball Park on Wednesday night.

A pair of former H-DNL standouts faced off in a pitchers’ duel at the Arcata Ball Park on Wednesday night, as the Humboldt Crabs hosted the Humboldt Eagles in their annual early-summer matchup.

There was little to separate the two clubs for much of the night, before the Crabs pulled away late for a 9-0 win.

The victory keeps the Crabs unbeaten through four games, while the Eagles were playing their first game of the season.

College of the Redwoods pitcher and former Arcata Tiger Miles Oliver got the start for the Crabs and threw six strong innings for the win.

Oliver, who is coming off an impressive spring playing for CR, gave up just two hits and no walks and struck out 12 in his Crabs’ debut.

“He pitched well, he threw strikes,” Crabs manager Robin Guiver said. “Miles Oliver did a good job.”

Eagles pitcher Cooper Ohlsen was equally impressive and threw 5.2 innings in the loss.

The 2024 Eureka High graduate gave up four hits and walked five, while striking out four.

He certainly did enough to give his team a chance to win the game.

“I thought Ohlsen did a really good job on the mound,” Guiver said. “He kept us off balance, had a good change-up, threw strikes. He did a good job.”

Adam Enyart provided the offensive highlight of the night with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth to kickstart the late surge for the host team.

Enyart finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two walks and scored three runs.

Miles Oliver delivers a pitch on Wednesday night.

Michael Perazzo also impressed at the plate for the Crabs and finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Eureka’s Keenan Morris went 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs and Liam Forsyth added a double.

The Eagles had three hits on the night.

Alex Jimenez finished 2-for-3 with a walk and Matt Pleasant was 1-for-3.

In addition to Ohlsen’s big night on the mound, a pair of Eureka Loggers freshmen — Brayden Bermers and Kyle Giacone — both saw time on the hill in relief.

The Crabs, who host the Fresno A’s in a three-game series this weekend, are still waiting on several players to arrive for the summer season.

But there has been some notable bright spots in their absence, with the team going 4-0 in its first four games.

“We’re still missing some pretty big offensive weapons, but I’ve been really happy with guys taking their chances,” Guiver said. “It’s been good. They’re getting along with each other, they’re showing up on days off to get some work in.”

Perazzo looks like he’s ready for a big summer at the Arcata Ball Park and Guiver expects him to “lock down the infield” at shortstop, while several of the local players — Morris, Oliver, Parker Rodgers, Myles Standish and Cayden Lee — have all impressed at times through the opening week.

Standish, who got the win on the mound on opening night, will be expected to play a key role on the pitching staff this summer after missing most of last summer through injury.

“He looked sharp,” Guiver said of the 2023 Eureka High graduate. “I expect him to be a weekend starter.”

The series opener against the A’s will take place on Friday night at 7 and Guiver is expecting a challenging series.

“They’ve been a good team. We’ve played them the last couple of summers and they’ve brought a good squad up here,” he said. “They’re tough. I expect it to be a good competitive weekend.”