Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The Fortuna Huskies held their nerve late in Thursday’s Charles Lakin Tournament semifinal at the Arcata Sports Complex to set up a championship showdown against Big 5 rival Eureka.

The Huskies appeared to be well in control against Little 4 champs South Fork and held a sizable 13-2 led going into the bottom of the seventh inning.

But the Cubs are Little 4 champs for a reason and would come storming back, scoring 10 runs in the final inning to pull within one, before eventually falling 13-12.

Fortuna will now look to make it two straight Lakin tournament titles on Friday evening, while adding to their record four all-time tournament championships.

On Thursday, they won with a balanced team performance, with 10 different players combining for 19 team hits, including seven with multiple hits.

The top of the order came through for the Big 5 runners-up.

Leadoff hitter Isabel Sanchez finished 3-for-4 with a double an RBI and four runs, while No. 2 hitter Olivia Hayes was 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs and two runs.

No. 3 hitter Hailee Thompson also impressed in the win.

Thompson finished 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while teammate Evalynn Little was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run.

Three South Fork players also finished with multiple hits, as both teams combined for 33 base hits.

Mackenzie Coleman led the Cubs at the plate and was 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, while teammate Kendal Kercher also impressed and finished 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

The team defense, however, was unable to match the impressive offensive production.

“Defensively we struggled. Too many costly errors,” South Fork head coach Lisa Todd said. “I’m proud they didn’t give up and fought to the end.”

Sophia Castillo also had multiple hits for Fortuna, which improved to 21-4 on the season.

The hard-hitting Castillo finished 2-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and a run, while Keeley Ryles-Baker was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and a run, and Kaylee Castillo was 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run.

Sanchez also got the win in the circle, throwing 4.1 innings and striking out eight while walking one.

Randi Rice (1-for-1 with an RBI), Mia Tiedeman (1-for-4 with an RBI and a run) and Addie Collenberg (1-for-4 with a double and two runs) each also had a base hit in the win.

Also impressing for South Fork was Leila Coleman.

The sophomore standout finished 2-for-4 with a double an RBI and a walk, while teammate Molly Perkins was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Aubrey Young displayed a keen eye at the plate and finished 1-for-1 with three walks, while Hailey Shepherd was 1-for-3 with a walk and Anora Blackwell finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Leila Coleman pitched a complete game for the loss in the circle, finishing with three strikeouts and no walks.

South Fork closed out the H-DNL season 15-9.

Friday night’s championship game gets under way at 5 p.m.