Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Makenzie Wolff in action for the Loggers on Thursday night.

The Loggers are taking full advantage of their opportunity.

Nine days ago it appeared as if they had missed out on the chance to play for a Charles Lakin Tournament for the third straight year after finishing fourth in what was a very competitive Big 5 this spring.

But after Del Norte opted out of this year’s tournament because of scheduling conflict with a required school activity, the Loggers were handed the conference’s third seed for the postseason tournament at the last minute and they haven’t looked back since.

On Tuesday, they opened tournament play with a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Hoopa, and they followed that with another 6-4 win in a Thursday night semifinal showdown against Big 5 champs McKinleyville.

On Friday night, they will play defending tournament champs Fortuna in the championship game at the Arcata Sports Complex with more than just a trophy on the line.

If the Loggers win they will tie the Huskies for most ever Lakin trophies with four.

Only two other schools — McKinleyville in 2019 and Del Norte in 2024 — have ever won a Lakin trophy in the 10-season history of the H-DNL postseason tournament.

But that’s not all for the Loggers.

Their two tournament wins this week — and a possible third on Friday night — will help them in their bid for a North Coast Section playoff spot.

After having to rally from an early deficit against Hoopa on Tuesday, the Eureka girls came out with more energy and determination against the Panthers, scoring three runs in the top of the first and stretching their advantage to six in the third.

The Panthers would begin to chip away at the deficit, scoring four unanswered runs down the stretch, but the early damage would prove costly and they were unable to bridge the gap.

The championship appearance is a big achievement for any school, but particularly for a program that was winless in 2025 and managed just two wins over the past two seasons.

New Eureka head coach Bob Secor and his staff have done a remarkable job with the turnaround, putting their players in position to compete for a conference title this spring and now leading them to a championship game appearance.

They were out-hit 8-7 on Thursday but made their hits count.

And they did so early in the game.

A first inning double by influential senior Bailey Brown was followed moments later by a two-RBI single from teammate Macy Secor to open the scoring, as the Loggers come out with a steely determination.

Jaycee Childress then drove in Macy Secor on a sac fly to stretch the advantage to three before the McKinleyville bats had even taken swing.

The Panthers, to their credit, would grow into the game thanks in large part to a good day at the plate from the top of their order, with Cabella Carper, Liana Stumpf and McKennah Sargent each finishing with a pair of hits.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 14-7 on the season, but they still have plenty to play for, and as conference champs there’s a good chance they will get to host their NCS opener next week.

Thursday, however, belonged to the Loggers, who added three more runs in the top of the third.

Junior pitcher Mackenzie Wolff turned in another strong performance in the circle.

The impressive Wolff, who is enjoying a breakout season, pitched all seven innings and allowed just two earned runs and struck out six.

Macy Secor finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs, while Brown was 1-for-2 with the double and two walks and scored twice.

Childress also made some noise at the plate, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run, while Tiffany Harris was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and Megan Secor was 1-for-4.

Leadoff hitter Violla Kingsang also scored a run.

Sargent led the Mack bats, finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk, while the impressive Carper was 2-for-4 and scored three runs, and Stumpf was 2-for-4.

Taylor Wade (1-for-4) and Josie Provolt-Dowd (1-for-3) each also had a base hit for the Panthers, while Ashton Rodriguez walked in her only at-bat and scored a run.

Sargent took the loss in the circle.

The Big 5 MVP candidate pitched all seven innings and walked three while striking out five.

With the win, the Loggers improved to 11-12 on the season.

Friday’s championship game is set for 5 p.m.