Submitted photo – The Eureka seines were honored before Wednesday’s game against McKinleyville.

Freshman Cabella Carper enjoyed one of the best games of her young career on Wednesday, as McKinleyville inched closer to a Big 5 championship in softball.

The Panthers traveled to Eureka and came away with a 9-2 victory to move within one win of at least a co-championship.

With the victory, they improved to 7-2 in the Big 5 (12-5 overall) with three conference games remaining, and with no other conference team having less than four losses, the title appears to be McKinleyville’s to lose at this stage.

Carper paved the the way to the victory with a huge day in the lead-off spot.

The freshman standout finished 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI and scored three runs.

Senior pitcher McKennah Sargent also impressed in the win, holding the Loggers to just four hits and no walks and striking out five.

The Panthers started fast, opening up a 4-0 lead before the home team got on the board and they scored in each of the first five innings to take a commanding seven-run advantage.

Sargent and Jacey Parker each also had multiple hits in the win.

The senior pitcher helped her own cause by going 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs, a walk and a run, while Parker finished 2-for-4 with two runs.

The McKinleyville girls also played strong defense behind their pitcher, while the Loggers committed four errors.

Senior Macy Secor was one of four Eureka players to hit successfully on what was senior day for the team.

Secor finished 1-for-3 with a double and a run, while Violla Kingsang (1-for-3), Lola Distefano (1-for-2 with a run) and Kylee Secor (1-for-2) each also had a hit in the loss.

Senior Tiffany Harris added an RBI.

Mackenzie Wolff pitched all seven innings for the home team and struck out five.

The other three Eureka seniors who were honored were Megan Secor, Bailey Brown and Jaycee Childress.

With the loss, the Loggers dropped to 6-5 in the Big 5 and 9-11 overall.

Liana Stumpf (1-for-5 with two RBIs), Addison White (1-for-3 with a walk) and Josie Provolt-Dowd (1-for-4) each also had a base hit for McKinleyville.

Next up, the Panthers will host Del Norte in a doubleheader on Saturday, where a sweep would secure the Big 5 title outright and a split would guarantee the Panthers at least a co-championship.

Eureka will close out conference play at Del Norte next Wednesday.

File photo