File photo – Sophia Spetzler

Despite graduating six senior starters from last year’s Big 5 championship team, the Warriors began the defense of their title with a pair of wins on Saturday.

The Del Norte girls welcomed Arcata to Crescent City and swept a softball doubleheader with two one-run victories, 7-6 and 2-1.

But it was far from perfect for the three-rime defending champs.

“We had some issues defensively,” Del Norte head coach Aaron Healy said.

Despite that, the Warriors did enough to pull out the two wins, with a freshman playing a big part in that.

Playing in her first-ever Big 5 game, Taylor Horner impressed for the home team, both in the circle and at the plate.

The freshman pitcher not only helped to settle her team down in the circle, but she also had a good day at the plate, driving in the go-ahead run in the opener and adding two more RBIs in game two, including the winning run.

“Taylor had a good day at the plate, and she came in and did her job relieving (starting pitcher) Addi (Whitford) in the first game,” Healy said. “She definitely did her job.”

Whitford also impressed in the circle for the home team, but in Healy’s words, the team “defense fell apart” midway through the first game.

Whitford would pitch a complete game in game two, holding the visitors to just one run on her way to the victory.

No final stats were immediately available for the Warriors from either game.

Nallia Meyer and Peyton Miller each had a pair of hits for Arcata in game one, while Lily D’usseau added a double.

Sophomore pitcher Sophia Spetzler pitched all six innings in that game, giving up just two earned runs on nine hits and striking out one.

Kirra Wiley added two hits for Arcata in game two to lead a five-hit team performance, while Spetzler got her second start of the day, before Riley Houston took over and pitched the final two innings.

The two Arcata pitchers combined to hold the home team to just two runs.

“The pitching was good today,” Arcata head coach Jason Miller said. “Sophia threw us a ton of ground balls and Riley came in and shut them down in the middle of game two.”

Houston did not give up any hits and walked just one in her two scoreless innings.

Despite the defensive shortcomings, there were several bright spots for the Warriors.

Junior Giana Antonetti had a good game in left field and on the bases and she continues to set the tone for her teammates with her play and her demeanor.

“I can’t give her enough credit,” Healy said. “She just does everything right. She keeps it simple and does her job.”

Her younger sister, freshman Josephine Antonetti, appears to have a bright future with the team.

After a big winter on the basketball courts, the younger Antonetti is playing shortstop and is showing a lot of promise at the plate.

Senior Bliss Blackburn also had a good day at the plate for Del Norte, and similar to the now graduated Carlee Harper a year ago, she looks capable of scoring a run every time she gets on base.

With the two wins, the Del Norte girls improved to 9-3 overall, while the Tigers dropped to 6-4.

“Defensively we were good,” Miller added. “We made so many great plays. We had multiple diving catches and were making plays all over the place.

“We just fell short on those important moments in both games.”