Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Ty Crawford

By Ray Hamill — The local high school baseball and softball seasons are heating up and that’s reflected in our weekly awards this week.

In baseball, the Eureka Loggers have been one of the stories of the year so far here on the North Coast and that continued to be the case this week.

Under the guidance of head coach Tommy Gale, the Eureka boys have won six straight games, including three straight to open conference play.

In those three Big 5 games, the Eureka pitchers have given up just three hits total.

And that makes the Loggers our team of the week.

But that’s not all for the Eureka boys.

Senior Ty Crawford has been among the most impressive players in the H-DNL thus far and provided the highlight performance of the week, pitching a no-hitter against Fortuna in Eureka’s conference opener last Saturday.

Crawford is 4-1 on the season with a minuscule ERA of 0.81 and 46 strikeouts in just 26 innings, while also making a big impact at the plate.

And that makes the outstanding Eureka senior one of our choices for athlete of the week.

Our second athlete of the week goes to another pitcher, McKinleyville’s McKennah Sargent.

The Panthers senior, who will play at Santa Rosa JC next year, is enjoying an impressive final high school campaign and helped lead her team to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fortuna in McKinleyville’s conference opener in softball on Wednesday.

Sargent gave up six hits and struck out six against a dangerous Fortuna lineup.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Ty Crawford

Eureka Baseball, Senior

Crawford has been one of the best high school players here on the North Coast for the past couple of seasons and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

The experienced Eureka standout is enjoying a big spring, both on the mound and at the plate, and has played a key role in his team’s impressive start to the Big 5.

In addition to pitching his no-hitter against Fortuna, Crawford is averaging .312 at the plate this season with team-highs in RBIs (15), home runs (three) and doubles (five).

For more on his big week, see Crawford pitches no-hitter to lead Eureka to opening-day sweep …

McKennah Sargent

McKinleyville Softball, Senior

Sargent is one of the most experienced pitchers in the H-DNL this year and it showed with another big performance by the college-bound senior this week.

The Panthers’ team ace frustrated a dangerous Fortuna lineup for much of the afternoon on the way to a big statement win for her team, which helped get their conference championship ambitions off to a flying start.

If Sargent continues to play at this level for the rest of the spring, the Mack girls will be tough to stop in the Big 5.

TEAM OF THE WEEK

Eureka baseball

The Loggers look like legitimate Big 5 contenders after an impressive 3-0 start to conference play this week.

After shutting out Fortuna in both games of a doubleheader last weekend, and holding the Huskies to just two hits on the day, the Eureka boys followed that with an impressive 5-1 win over Arcata on Wednesday.

Starting pitchers Crawford, Brayden Bermers and Kyle Giacone all impressed this week, while several Loggers are enjoying big springs at the plate, with five players averaging at least .312.

From top to bottom, the Loggers could be the most talented team in the H-DNL right now, although McKinleyville and St. Bernard’s could have something to say about that.

Bigger challenges await the Loggers in the Big 5 and a mouthwatering doubleheader at McKinleyville on Monday will tell us more about their championship credentials, but thus far they’ve taken care of business.

For more on their big week, see Loggers stretch winning streak to six straight, go to 3-0 in Big 5 …