Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — After waiting 35 years for a championship in Little 4 softball last season, the South Fork Cubs may not haver to wait quite as long this time around.

Although there’s still plenty of work to be done, the South Fork girls took a big step toward a second straight conference title with a key doubleheader sweep on Friday.

The Cubs welcomed their closest challengers Hoopa to Miranda and won both games to move two wins clear of the chasing pack with four games remaining.

Head coach Lisa Todd has done an outstanding job with a talented roster and the Cubs appears to be peaking at an opportune time as they head into the stretch run of the season.

And that makes them our choice for team of the week.

Two individual athletes also enjoyed big weeks for their respective teams, as they continued their outstanding spring seasons in softball and track and field.

McKinelyville’s McKennah Sargent is closing out her high school career in style on the local softball fields and had an incredible day in a doubleheader against at Arcata last Saturday.

The Panthers swept both games and had some outstanding performances by several players, no one more so than Sargent.

In addition to posting both wins in the circle, Sargent also finished 7-for-9 at the plate over the two games with a home run in each game.

And that make her one of our athletes of the week.

Our second athlete of the week goes to Fortuna senior Kavi Bolden.

The Huskies multi-sport standout is enjoying a big spring on he track and that continued this week.

Bolden placed first in three league events at Del Norte for the third straight week, including a victory with a PR time of 22.07 seconds in the 200 meters.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 

McKennah Sargent

McKinleyville Softball, Senior

Sargent is playing at an MVP level for the conference-leading Panthers, who came into this weekend with a record of 5-1 in them Big 5.

In last weekend’s doubleheader sweep, the senior standout hit two home runs and two doubles and also had six RBIs and scored five runs.

For good measure she also struck out 13 in 11 innings in the circle, while walking just three batters.

For more on her big week, see Mack girls explode for seven home runs in doubleheader sweep …

Kavi Bolden

Fortuna Track and Field, Senior

Bolden is closing out his high school career in style and has been setting the pace in the H-DNL sprints this spring.

The Fortuna senior has placed first in nine events over the past three league meets, including three at Del Norte on Wednesday.

In addition to his PR run in the 200m, Bolden also played a part in Fortuna relay victories in the 4x100m and 4x400m.

For more on his big week, see League athletes building momentum ahead of stretch run …

TEAM OF THE WEEK 

South Fork Softball

While they still have some work to do, the Cubs are closing in on another Little 4 title in softball.

And they’re succeeding with some outstanding coaching and with several players rising to the challenge, including junior Mackenzie Coleman, both at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle.

Junior Hailey Shepherd and sophomore Kendall Kercher also are enjoying outstanding seasons for the team, as is catcher Molly Perkins, among others.

The Cubs still need to secure two more wins in their final four conference games to secure the championship, but with eight straight wins they’re building momentum at an opportune time.

And with the expected return from injury of sophomore standout Leila Coleman in the near future, they should only get stronger.

For more on their  big week, see South Fork girls take a huge step toward second straight L4 title …