Submitted photo – Henry Hinrichs, Garrett Shanahan and Mason Long each had a home run in St. Bernard’s win at South Fork on Tuesday.

St. Bernard’s made it official on Tuesday.

The Crusaders traveled to South Fork and came away with an 8-5 win to secure this year’s Little 4 championship outright after having clinched at least a co-championship last week.

Also in Little 4 baseball on Tuesday, the Ferndale Wildcats traveled to Hoopa and won 16-5 to solidify their hold on second place.

St. Bernard’s victory was memorable in more ways than one.

In addition to clinching a second straight conference title, the victory also saw sophomore Henry Hinrichs and freshman Mason Long each hit the first home runs of their high school careers.

Red-hot junior Garrett Shanahan also hit a home run in the win, his third in the past two weeks.

Hinrichs finished 2-for-4 with the home run and three RBIs, while his older brother, senior Tyler Hinrichs, was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Long finished 1-for-2 with the home run and two RBIs, while Shanahan was 1-for-3 with the home run, an RBI and two runs.

Senior Michael Manzi also had a good day at the plate for the conference champs, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs and four stolen bases.

The Crusaders utilized five different pitchers, including four who were seeing time on the mound for the first time in the Little 4.

Dakota Bestul (1.2 innings, one hit, three walks, three strikeouts), Braylon Johnson (2.1 innings, four hits, four runs, one walk, three strikeouts), Maccoy Rickson (1.1 innings, one hit, one run, no walks and one strikeout) and Brylon Smith (0.2 innings, one hit, no runs, no walks) all impressed in their conference debuts on the hill.

“They all pitched great,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said.

Experienced senior Tyler Hinrichs threw one scoreless inning for the save, taking over with a runner on and no outs in the seventh and allowing one walk and striking out two while getting out the jam.

No stats were immediately available for the Cubs, who dropped to 3-6 but remain third in the standings.

The two schools will play again at South Fork on Thursday.

Submitted photo – The St. Bernard’s players and coaches he celebrate their championship on Tuesday.

At Hoopa, meanwhile, the Wildcats pulled away late to secure an 11-run victory.

Just two runs separated the two schools after five innings, but the visitors plated nine late runs to end the game as a contest.

“This one was ours to win and we managed to make costly errors and strand runners in multiple innings,” Hoopa head coach Boyd Ferris said. “We cannot seem to put a full seven innings of clean baseball together.”

Senior Tanner Pidgeon continued to have a hot bat for the Cats and led the way at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and four runs.

Cash Mobley and Luke Dixon each also had multiple hits in the win, as the Ferndale bats combined for 13 hits.

Dixon finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs, while Mobley was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a run.

Westin Ayala got the win on the mound in relief of starter Justin Noga.

Ayala threw four innings, giving up just two earned runs on five hits and a walk and striking out three.

Noga threw three strong innings for a no-decision, giving up just one earned run on two hits and four walks and striking out seven.

“I thought Westin threw well once he settled in,” Ferndale head coach Justin Andersen said. “Tanner continues to be hot at the plate right now, and Preston Killingsworth found a way to get on base and made an impact every time he did.”

Killingsworth finished 1-for-2 with a double and scored three runs, while Cade Renner (1-for-2 with an RBI and a run), Ayala (1-for-5 with two runs), Tristen Titus (1-for-3 with a run) and Prescott Langer (1-for-3 with an RBI and a run) each also had a base hit in the win.

A pair of freshmen continued to impress for the home team for the second straight week as they continue to build momentum at the high school level.

Axel Tripp finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs, while David Sylvia was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

But, according to Ferris, the Warriors gave up “way too many unearned runs.”

Delmer Ferris had a good day at the plate in the loss and reached base four times, finishing 1-for-1 with three walks.

Allen Kane (1-for-4 with a run) and Brian Richards (1-for-3) each also had a base hit for Hoopa, while Evan Nicholson added a run.