Photos by Ray Hamill/HumbldtSports.com
Eureka kept the pressure on Big 5 leaders McKinleyville while returning to winning ways with a doubleheader sweep over Del Norte in conference action on Saturday.
The Loggers hosted defending Big 5 champion Del Norte and won a pair of close games, 2-1 and 5-4, to go to 5-2 in conference and 13-6 overall.
It was a nice response from the team after a disappointing showing in a pair of losses to the Panthers on Monday.
“It was so important,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said of the two wins. “It was a tough week.”
A competitive Del Norte team gave the hosts all they could handle while losing both games by the narrowest of margins and dropping to 4-3 in the Big 5 and 9-9 overall.
Eureka senior Ty Crawford continued his impressive season with another good outing on the mound in game one, finishing with a remarkable 15 strikeouts in 6.2 innings and holding the Warriors to just three hits.
“Ty Crawford was just electric,” Gale said. “That’s the most strikeouts I’ve seen in a high school game, so that was pretty impressive.”
Crawford was pulled with one out remaining for the visitors because of his pitch count, and the Warriors had the tying run at third when he left.
But Ryder Mitchell came in and got out of the jam with a strikeout to secure the victory and the save.
“He came in throwing strikes and shut the door,” Gale added of Mitchell. “That was crucial.”
Crawford helped his own cause by going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Mitchell was 2-for-2.
Ben Shewsberry also impressed on the mound for Del Norte.
“That first game was a good baseball game,” Del Norte head coach Jeff Cook said. “It was a pitchers’ duel.”
According to the Del Norte book, Marco Gonzalez led the way at the plate and finished 2-for-3, with Dane Brown and Shrewsberry each also getting a hit.
Game two was just as close.
Mitchell got the start on the hill for the home team and gave up two earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five in five innings.
Impressive sophomore Brayden Bermers pitched the final two innings for Eureka and held the Del Norte bats without a hit or a walk while striking out one.
The hard-hitting Garett Levitt led the Loggers at the plate in game two, finishing 3-for-3 with a home run and a double.
His home run came at a pivotal tie of the game, with his team trailing by two.
“He was the star of the offense,” Gale said of the impressive senior.
Crawford and Mitchell each finished 2-for-3 in that win, while sophomore Sidney Mefford had one of the at-bats of the game in a pinch hit situation.
Mefford was just called up to the varsity roster after starting the season with the JVs and he had an immediate impact with a clutch fielder’s choice up the middle that scored the winning run.
“It was a very team-focused at-bat, and he came in clutch,” Gale said. “It’s the exact plan we talk about in that situation and he executed it perfectly.”
Brown and Dominick Miller each finished with a pair of hits for Del Norte in game two, while Jeremiah Griffin and Kanyon Starkey each was 1-for-3 and Gonzalez finished 1-for-4.
Landon Williams got the start on the hill for the visitors and pitched well. (His final stats were not immediately available.)
The two losses followed a 12-2 defeat to McKinleyville on Friday.
“No excuses, we’ve got to do better,” Cook said. “We know what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to back our pitchers.”
The two wins keep the Loggers in contention for this year’s Big 5 championship, and the manner in which the players responded to Monday’s disappointment served as statement of intent.
“These one-run games, it really takes a level of mental strength,” Gale said. “I’m proud of the boys. They played hard till the last out.”
