A high-scoring Ferndale baseball team scored 16 runs for the third time in four days on Friday, as the Wildcats traveled to Hoopa for a make-up game in the Little 4.

The Cats won the 16-7, matching the run total they put up in two games against South Fork earlier in the week and keeping their championship hopes alive.

With the win, which was their fourth straight in conference play, the Ferndale boys improved to 4-2 in the Little 4 as they get set for another pivotal week and two games against unbeaten L4 leaders St. Bernard’s next week.

Those two games will likely decide the fate of this year’s conference championship.

But on Friday, the Wildcats continued to take care of business against a Hoopa team that dropped to 0-6 in conference.

And they did it despite traveling with a shorthanded roster.

“We were missing three starters, so we had three players get significant innings they normally wouldn’t get,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. “And they all performed, so I was happy to see that.”

Cade Renner continued his impressive spring with another strong performance on the mound.

The sophomore pitched five innings for the win, allowing four hits and six walks and striking out six.

Freshman Julian Miller threw two scoreless innings in relief, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.

Justin Noga and Brenden Toler also impressed while filling in for the missing starters, as did Preston Kilingsworth, who switched from the outfield to second base and made his presence felt with his reliable glove.

“We got two good innings out of Julian, which was good to see,” Andersen said. “It was nice to see the young players get in and contribute. 

“And Killingsworth played significant innings in the infield and made every play that was hit to him. Those were positive things.”

For a school better known for its football, the Cats are scoring like a football team this spring, but, as Andersen pointed out, they are also giving up football scores in most games.

That could be problematic going up against St. Bernard’s next week, with the Cats realistically needing to sweep the two games against the conference leaders to have any shot at winning this year’s championship.

The Cats’ only two losses of the season cane against St. Bernard’s in the opening week of the Little 4.

“We’re going to have to hold them under a touchdown,” Andersen said of the Crusaders. “But I was happy to get the wins this week. It was a long week and we were three for three.”

Brad Williams led the Cats at the plate in Friday’s win, finishing 4-for-6 with two RBIs and two runs, while the hard-hitting Tanner Pidgeon was 3-for-6 with a triple, a double, four RBIs and two runs.

Colton Renner also made plenty of noise at the plate and finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs, while Noga (2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs) and Toler (2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs) each also had multiple hits in the win.

Cash Mobley (1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs), Cade Renner (1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs) and Luke Dixon (1-for-4 with an RBI and a run) rounded out a 17-hit team performance.

The Cats play at St. Bernard’s on Tuesday, before hosting the Crusaders on Thursday.

Both game are set for 4 p.m.