Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The South Fork girls swept a Little 4 softball doubleheader against St. Bernard’s on Tuesday, but they had to battle all the way in an exciting game one.

Playing at the Bear River Sport Complex, the South Fork girls appeared to be cruising in the opening game after opening up an 11-1 lead going into the bottom of the fifth inning.

But the Crusaders had other ideas and came storming back to take a 15-12 advantage going into the seventh.

The Cubs, however, are defending conference champs for a reason and they would answer, adding four more runs in the seventh on the way to a 16-15 win in a high-scoring showdown.

Game two wasn’t as close, with the Cubs winning 10-0 to go to 3-1 in the Little 4 and joining Hoopa atop the conference standings.

In other Little 4 games on Tuesday, the Warriors swept a doubleheader at Ferndale.

The Cubs are playing without influential sophomore Leila Coleman, who is sidelined with an injury and is not expected back for another couple of weeks.

But they found a way to win both games after being challenged by a young SB team that refused to go down easily.

“We had a pretty good day at the plate,” said South Fork head coach Lisa Todd, whose team racked up 26 runs over the two games. “Both teams were hitting well. Defensively we struggled a little and we still have some work to do. We are still without Leila Coleman, so we are still making adjustments.”

Hailey Shepherd continued to hit the ball well for the Cubs, particularly in game one.

The hard-hitting junior finished 3-for-4 with a double in the opener and also reached base on a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

Aubrey Young (3-for-5 with an RBI), Makenzie Brewer (3-for-4 with a triple, a double, a walk and an RBI), Molly Perkins (2-for-3 with two doubles and two walks), Kendall Kercher (2-for-4) and Mackenzie Coleman (2-for-5 with a double, a walk and an two RBIs) each also had multiple hits for South Fork in game one.

Mackenzie Coleman got the win in the circle, striking out three.

Impressive freshman Leyla Curria, who was walked three times in game one, had the hot bat for the Cubs in game two and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Shepherd had the offensive highlight of the second game with a home run, finishing 1-for-2.

Brewer (1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI) and Mackenzie Coleman (1-for-1 with a double, two walks and an RBI) each also made some noise at the plate in the game-two win.

Mackenzie Coleman got her second win of the day in the circle, striking out three with no walks.

No stats were immediately available for the Crusaders, who dropped to 0-4 in conference play.