Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville’s McKennah Sargent
By Ray Hamill — Get ready for a dog fight in the race for this year’s Big 5 softball championship.
The action gets under way on Saturday with two doubleheaders on tap, when three-time defending champion Del Norte hosts Arcata and unbeaten Fortuna travels to Eureka.
The Huskies, who are the highest ranked local team in the North Coast Section right now, are 11-0 and look like the team to beat in this year’s conference.
But head coach Eric Helms, who has guided the Huskies to a second-place finish in each of the past two seasons, believes this year’s Big 5 will be one of the most competitive we’ve seen in some time.
“It will be interesting to see how many wins win league this year,” Helms said. “I think this is the most competitive Big 5 top to bottom in a while. There are no slouches.
“It’s very competitive up here, and we all took care of business in non-conference games. The league is not going to be a walk in the park.”
In addition to the high-flying Huskies, both Del Norte (7-3) and McKinleyville (5-2) will like their chances of competing for a conference crown, while Arcata (6-2) and Eureka (3-6) both appear to be much improved and could also be in the mix.
Showcasing just how competitive the league is right now, four of the five schools have winning records through the opening month and all four of those teams feature in the top half of the North Coast Section rankings.
Fortuna is No. 17 out of 114 schools that are currently ranked, followed by No. 28 Del Norte, No. 33 McKinleyville and No. 53 Arcata.
Eureka, which appears to have turned a corner after being held winless a year ago, has already racked more wins this season than in the last two years combined and comes in at No. 74.
Submitted photo – The Fortuna Huskies celebrate their recent tournament win at Cloverdale.
The Loggers showed how much they have improved in three early-season non-conference matchups against their Big 5 rivals.
They lost all three three of those games — two to Del Norte and one to McKinleyville — but did so by a combined four runs over the three games.
“They’re definitely improved,” Healy said. “We played Eureka and they’re a different club for sure.”
Healy has had to replace six senior starters from last year’s championship team and the new-look Warriors are still a work in progress as they get set to open their league campaign.
But Healy and his staff always seem to have their players well prepared, and no one will be taking them lightly in the coming weeks.
The Tigers, meanwhile, could be the most improved team in the entire H-DNL this spring and have posted shutouts in three of their six wins.
Head coach Jason Miller has his players playing like a complete team and the Tigers are already just two wins from surpassing their highest season win tally since they went 17-10 in 2019.
The McKinleyville girls also have impressed early in the season, and head coach Shanna McCracken always fields a competitive team.
McKinleyville senior pitcher, McKennah Sargent, is one of the best in the league and will give her team a chance every time she takes the field.
“I love her work ethic,” Helms said of Sargent, who will play for Santa Rosa JC after graduation this year. “She’s a great leader and a great person.”
Helms has plenty of talent on his roster as well, including senior Isabel Sanchez, who could be the best overall player in the H-DNL right now and has been very impressive both in the circle and at the plate, as well as junior Evalynn Little, who has been hitting the ball as well as anyone in the Big 5.
“I think it’s going to be who performs on their day,” Healy said. “It’s up for grabs.”
Saturday’s doubleheaders both begin at 11 a.m.
