Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — It was a good start to the season for one local athlete this past week, and a strong finish to the season for a local team.

And both feature in our weekly awards.

Our athlete of the week award goes to a Fortuna player who looks poised for a big season on the softball fields this spring.

Versatile junior Evalynn Little is enjoying an incredible start to the new softball season and has been on fire at the plate through the opening few games.

Heading into a Saturday afternoon game against winless Willows (0-9), Little is hitting .889 at the plate and has played a key role in leading the Huskies to a 3-0 start.

But that’s not all for a player who will play third base, catcher and in the outfield.

Little also has nine RBIs and a double and hit her first home run of the season in a 10-8 win over defending Little 4 champs South Fork last weekend.

And that makes her our choice for athlete of the week.

Our team of the week honors, meanwhile, go to the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball team.

The Jacks saw their season end in the opening round of the NCAA playoffs on Friday night, when they lost to top seed in the Western Region and the No. 2 team in the nation, Cal State East Bay.

Despite the loss, it was a good season for the Jacks under first-year head coach DJ Broome.

The Humboldt men were picked to finish eighth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association in the preseason poll, but exceeded expectations and then some.

They finished third in the final conference standings and secured the No. 3 seed for the conference tournament.

They also won their opening two games in the conference tournament last weekend, which would secure them a place in the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics