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The Eureka Loggers kept their Big 5 championships hopes with a crucial win on Wednesday, as they knocked off conference leaders McKinleyville with a dominant performance.

Knowing that anything less than a victory would end any hopes of a championship, the Eureka players delivered in emphatic fashion in their biggest game of the year, winning 11-0 in five innings at Belotti Field.

The win lifted the Loggers to 9-2 in conference play with one game remaining at Del Norte next week, while the Panthers dropped to 8-1 with three games remaining.

“This was our most important game of the season,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said. “I told the guys ‘let’s leave it all on the field,’ and they responded.”

Since dropping both ends of a doubleheader at McKinleyville earlier in the month, the Eureka boys have won six straight must-win games.

The Panthers, however, still hold their championship fate in their own hands and can claim the conference crown outright with wins in their final three games.

“Eureka was definitely the better team today,” McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. “We just didn’t make the plays behind our pitchers today, and sometimes that’s just the way the ball rolls.

“But that’s not to take anything away from Eureka. They were the better team today.”

Senior Ty Crawford set the tone for the Loggers on senior day for the team and was outstanding on the mound, holding the visitors to just two hits on his way to the victory.

One of the frontrunners for this year’s Big 5 MVP award, Crawford lived up to that billing against a McKinleyville lineup that is considered by many to be the best in the area this spring.

He pitched all five innings, walking just one and striking out seven.

Both of the hits he gave up came in the first inning.

“Ty just did what Ty does,” Gale said. “He pitched a great game.”

Dobrec echoed the sentiment.

“Ty Crawford threw a great game,” the McKinleyville coach said. “We knew it was going to be tough going in there with him pitching, and Ty was dominant today.”

Crawford helped his own cause at the plate and was one of three Eureka batters to finish with multiple base hits in the win.

The senior team captain finished 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run.

Sophomore Bryson Burns also had a good day at the plate for the home team and finished 2-for-2 with a double, two walks and five RBIs, and he also scored a run.

“I love to have him in that leadoff spot,” Gale said of the standout sophomore. “He has the right mentality.”

Another sophomore, Kyle Giacone, also made some noise at the plate for Eureka and finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs, while senior Jesse Vasquez (1-for-3 with a walk) and sophomore Scotty Brogan (1-for-2 with two runs) rounded out an eight-hit team performance.

The shutout was the first of the season for a normally high-scoring Panthers team and just their second defeat of the spring, as they dropped to 17-2.

They carried a 10-game winning streak into the showdown and had not suffered defeat since falling to Ukiah on March 18.

Pat Wilson finished 1-for-1 for McKinleyville and teammate Hunter Carper was 1-for-2.

Carper also got the start on the hill and threw four innings for the loss, with Rhythm Green pitching one inning in relief.

The home team took control of the game with four runs in the bottom of the second inning and would add six more in the fourth on the way to ending the game early on the 10-run rule.

In addition to keeping themselves in contention for the Big 5 crown, the Loggers also celebrated their senior class of Crawford, Vasquez, Garrett Levitt and Sawyer Katri before the game.

It was also the Loggers’ final ever regular season game at Belotti Field with the team scheduled to move into a new field on campus next spring.

And the players were aware of all of that going into the game, wanting to close out with a memorable win.

The Panthers, however, will still be tough to stop in the race for this year’s conference title and need just two wins in their final three games to clinch at least a co-championship — depending on how the Loggers fare in their final conference game — or three wins to claim the title outright.

McKinleyville will try to bounce back in a home doubleheader against Del Norte on Saturday.

The Panthers also host Arcata in their final conference game next Wednesday.

The Loggers close out conference play at Del Norte next Wednesday.