Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

There’s still a long way to go in the race for this year’s Big 5 championship, but the McKinleyville Panthers took a huge step towards this year’s title with a doubleheader sweep on Monday.

In a pair of games that were pushed back from Saturday because of the weather, and a doubleheader that most fans expected to be pivotal in deciding this year’s title, the Panthers welcomed Eureka to Mack High and took both games.

They won game one 9-5 and followed that with an 8-1 win in game two.

With the two wins, the Mack boys improved to 3-0 in the Big 5 and 12-1 overall, while the two losses ended a six-game winning streak for the visitors, who dropped to 3-2 in the Big 5 and 11-6 overall.

But afterwards, McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec was not getting carried away.

“There’s still a long ways to go. We’ve still got nine games left,” Dobrec said. “But we’re where we want to be. I’m proud of the kids.”

The wins lifted the Panthers into second in the conference standings, behind a Del Norte team that is 4-0 after sweeping doubleheaders against Arcata and Fortuna — two teams that are a combined 6-22 on the season — to open conference play.

But two wins over a Eureka team that was considered one of the two favorites for this year’s championship was a huge statement nonetheless.

“They’re a great team. They were obviously the better team today,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said. “I was a little disappointed with our showing.”

The losses were the first in almost a month for the visitors, dating back to a March 17th defeat against Clear Lake.

Game one was a tight affair, with just one run separating the two sides going into the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Panthers led 5-2 after four innings, but the Loggers continued to chip away, scoring runs in each of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings to remain in contention.

The home team, however, scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to open up a four-run advantage and held on after that.

Pitchers Joe Tanner and Hunter Carper both enjoyed big performances for McKinleyville.

Tanno got the start in the opener and threw a complete game, giving up just two earned runs on six hits and striking out four.

Seven Panthers hit successfully in the win, including three players who had multiple hits against a Eureka staff that came into the game having allowed just three hits in their opening three conference games combined.

The always dangerous Tate Saso continued his red-hot season at the plate.

The sophomore, who is averaging a team-best .457, flinished 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Bode Reininger also was 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Carper finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs to kick off what would be a big day for the impressive junior.

Pat Wilson (1-for-3 with two RBIs), Tanno (1-for-3 with an RBI), Rhythm Green (1-for-3) and Blake Santos (1-for-4 with an RBI) each also had a base hit in the win.

Ty Crawford hit a home run for the visitors, while Matt Pleasant and Scotty Brogan each had a double.

Brayden Bermers got the start on the hill and threw 4.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.

Bryson Burns and Crawford both pitched in relief, with the latter throwing one hitless inning to close out the game and striking out two.

The home team carried the momentum into game two, opening up a four-run lead after two innings and stretching the advantage to eight before the Loggers got on the board.

Carper continued to impress both on the mound and at the plate.

The standout junior threw a complete game for the win, giving up just four hits and striking out one, while allowing his defense to make the plays behind him.

“They had some stellar pitching,” Gale said of the Panthers. “They shut us down and had us on our heels all day.”

Carper also provided the offensive highlight of the game with a solo home run in the opening inning to help set the early tone.

He finished 1-for-3.

Tanno was 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs, while Green and Jake Brunner each was 1-for-2 with an RBI and Reininger was 1-for-2.

“We played well,” Dobrec said. “We had timely hitting when we needed it. The kids stepped up and did their job for the most part.”

Brunner continued to play a key role for his team with another good day behind the plate, while Santos had one of the defensive plays of the day, throwing out a Eureka runner at home plate from right field.

“We made a couple of errors, but we’re playing good baseball,” Dobrec said. “They were both teams wins. The pitching was great in both games.”

Giacone got the start on the mound for Eureka and threw five innings, allowing five hits and striking out three.

The sophomore pitcher, however, also walked seven and gave up seven earned runs.

Ryder Mitchell pitched the final inning and struck out all three batters he faced.

Despite the two losses, the Loggers are far from out of the race, but they have little room for error the remainder of the way.

“What a blessing to have our league so talented,” said Gale, whose team has a Big 5 bye on Wednesday before hosting Del Norte in a doubleheader on Saturday. “We’ve got our work cut out for us once again.”

Saturday’s doubleheader will take place at McKinleyville High School because College of the Redwoods will be playing at Belotti Field that day.

The Panthers, meanwhile, will try to keep their impressive start to the Big 5 going when they travel to Del Norte for a single game on Wednesday with the Big 5 lead on the line.