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The McKinleyville Panthers took over top spot in the Big 5 standings with a big win at Del Norte on Friday.

In a make-up game that was pushed back from Wednesday because of the weather, the Panthers knocked off the early conference leaders with another balanced team performance while stretching their winning streak to six straight games.

With the win, McKinleyville improved to 4-0 in conference play and 13-1 overall.

The loss was the Warriors’ first in the Big 5, as they dropped to 4-1 in conference and 9-7 overall.

Seven players hit successfully for the Panthers, who followed their impressive doubleheader sweep over Eureka on Monday with another pivotal win.

“We took advantage of a couple of errors they made early,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “Overall, we hit the ball well.”

No one more so than Joe Tanno, who had a big day at the plate for the visitors, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while four of his teammates also had multiple hits.

Rhythm Green finished 2-for-2 and drove in three runs, Jake Brunner was 2-for-3 and had an RBI, Ruger Baxter was 2-for-3 and Bode Reininger was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Green also got the win on the mound, pitching five solid innings.

The standout junior gave up just two hits to the defending conference champs and struck out seven, although he did walk five batters.

“Rhythm Green pitched through some adversity, which was good for him,” Dobrec said. “We played good enough to win.”

Freshman Carson Hicks also impressed on the mound, throwing one hitless inning in relief and striking out two.

Tate Saso and Blake Santos each also had a base hit to round out a 13-hit team performance for the Panthers.

Jerimiah Griffin hit a second-inning triple for one of Del Norte’s only two hits on the day, while Dane Brown added a single.

“We had a lot of walks,” Del Norte head coach Jeff Cook said. “We got on base, even though we only had two hits.

“But the bats died today. Our bats have been hot, but they cooled off today.”

Ben Shrewsberry got the start on the mound, but was pulled early to keep his pitch count down and keep him eligible for a big doubleheader against Eureka on Saturday.

Jaxon Sharp and Markus Parras also saw time on the hill for Del Norte.

There will be a quick turnaround for both teams, who are playing three games each in 24 hours.

On Saturday, the Warriors will play a doubleheader against Eureka, which will be played at McKinleyville High School because Belotti Field, where the Loggers normally play their home games, is being used by College of the Redwoods.

The Panthers, meanwhile, will make the short trip to play Arcata.

Both of Saturday’s doubleheaders get under way at 11 a.m.