Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Addie Collenberg in action for the Huskies at the Arcata Sports Complex on Tuesday night.
The defending Charles Lakin Tournament champs kept their hopes of a second straight championship alive with a comfortable win in their tourney opener on Tuesday night.
The Fortuna Huskies, who placed second in this year’s Big 5, opened tournament play against neighbor and rival Ferndale at the Arcata Sports Complex and won 13-3 in five innings.
The victory sets up a semifinal showdown against Little 4 champion South Fork on Thursday night, in a game that has been moved forward to 5 p.m.
With Olivia Hayes and Addie Collenberg leading the way, the defending Lakin champs kept their tournament hopes on track with a fourth straight win.
Hayes had a big night for the Big 5 runners-up, finishing 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI.
The influential senior was also walked and reached base on a hit-by-pitch on her way to scoring four of her team’s runs.
Collenberg, meanwhile, got the start in the circle and threw a complete game, giving up just five hits and a walk against her former school, while striking out two.
The loss ended the season for the Wildcats, who will not be playing in this year’s North Coast Section playoffs, despite being the top-ranked Division-6 team in the section.
Several players on a small roster have other commitments next week and will be unavailable to participate.
And that means the end of the road for some outstanding Ferndale seniors, who closed out their high school careers with Tuesday’s loss.
Madison Gossi, who will play basketball at College of the Redwoods next year, went out with a bang, hitting a home run in her final ever high school at-bat, while fellow senior Tinnley Pidgeon also closed out strong, finishing 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Quinn Stokesberry is another influential senior who was playing her final high school game.
Submitted photo – Olivia Hayes
“I thought we had some good at-bats. We went into the game with the goal to compete, and I thought the girls played pretty well,” Ferndale head coach Jeremy Griffith said. “Fortuna’s a very good team and we made them earn it.”
In addition to Hayes’ big day, four other Huskies also had a base hit in the win, including the always-dangerous Evaylnn Little, who finished 1-for-4 with a double and four RBIs and also scored a run.
Sophia Castillo also made some noise at the plate for the Big 5 school, finishing 1-for-2 with three RBIs, two walks and a run, while Keeley Ryles-Baker (1-for-2 with an RBI) and Kaylee Castillo (1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs) each also had a hit in the win.
Isabel Sanchez also had an RBI and scored a run for Fortuna, while Mia Tiedeman added an RBI, and Naiya Castillo and Collenberg each scored a run.
Abagail Gossi (1-for-2), Fallon Bullan (1-for-2) and Kara Dinsmore (1-for-2 with an RBI) each also had a base hit for Ferndale.
Olivia Gossi pitched a complete game for the Cats, holding the Huskies to six hits and striking out five.
With the win, the Huskies improved to 20-4 on the season, while the Ferndale girls closed out 14-9.
All in all, it was a good season for the Cats.
“Our goal was to finish over .500, which we did,” Griffith said. “And part way through the season, we sort of made it our goal to be the top Division-6 ranked team (in the NCS).”
