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The McKinleyville Panthers may have been late to the party, but when they showed up they made quite an impression.

After an opening weekend bye in the Big 5, the Mack girls began conference play in softball on Wednesday with a huge 3-2 walk-off win over Fortuna at McKinleyville.

After opening the year with 12 straight wins, the Huskies have now dropped two straight games in the Big 5, showcasing just how competitive this year’s conference is.

Both teams opened their account with a single run each in the first inning, but with pitching aces Mckennah Sargent of McKinleyville and Isabel Sanchez of Fortuna in control, neither team was able to add to its tally until late.

The Panthers would take a one-run lead in the fifth and had the visitors on the ropes and down to their final out of the game before they would tie things up again when Sanchez singled to score Kaylee Castillo, who had doubled to reach base.

But the Panthers would have the final say, scoring in the bottom of the seventh to get their conference campaign off to an impressive start.

No stats or scoring details were immediately available for the Panthers. Coaches are encouraged to forward details to Humboldt Sports after their games if they would like to see their players included in our roundups.

For the Huskies, Hailee Thompson and Evalynn Little each had two hits, including a double by Thompson. 

Addie Collenberg also had a base hit for Fortuna.

Although she took the loss in the circle, Sanchez only allowed only four hits and 3 walks while striking out 12 batters. 

Sargent got the win, allowing seven hits and four walks and striking out six.

Fortuna is now 1-2 in the Big 5 and 12-2 overall, while McKinleyville improved to 1-0 and 6-3 overall.

Next up, on Saturday McKinleyville hosts Eureka in a doubleheader, while Fortuna will try to get back on track in a doubleheader at Del Norte.

Also in the Big 5 on Wednesday, Eureka improved to 2-1 in conference with an 8-2 win at Arcata.