The defending Little 4 champs got the new softball season off to a winning start on Friday.

The South Fork Cubs hosted Arcata and won a high-scoring showdown 12-10.

The home team put up four runs in the opening two innings to take control, but the Tigers responded with five runs in the third.

However, the Cubs would respond immediately, adding four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a lead they would not relinquish.

It was a good start for the two schools.

“Both teams played great offensively and defensively,” South Fork head coach Lisa Todd said. “We worked well as a team today. Defensively we had a few errors, but it’s still early, and offensively it was nice to see the whole lineup making contact.”

Sophomore Leila Coleman got the start in the circle for South Fork and threw the first three innings, allowing five walks and striking out four, before her older sister, junior Makenzie Coleman, took over and closed out the game.

Makenzie walked one and struck out five.

The two sisters got plenty of run support, with five different South Fork players finishing the game with multiple hits.

Hailey Shepherd led the way the plate and finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and two RBIs, while Anora Blackwell went 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs.

Makenzie Coleman (2-for-4 with a double and an RBI), Kendall Kercher (2-for-3 with a double and a walk) and Aubrey Young (2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI) each also had multiple hits.

Leila Coleman also had a double, a walk and an RBI.

The Cubs will be back in action on Saturday when they host another Big 5 school, with Fortuna traveling to Miranda. 

First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

No stats from Friday’s game were immediately available for the Tigers.