Photos by Ray Hamill/HumbopldtSports.com – Mackenzie Coleman

By Ray Hamill — The importance of pitching was highlighted in the race for this year’s Little 4 championship in softball.

In what was an exciting and closely-fought campaign, the South Fork Cubs would edge the Hoopa Warriors by just one win for the pennant, with both teams’ starting pitchers — Mackenzie Coleman of South Fork and Hoopa’s Monteya Colegrove — playing a hugely important role in the championship race.

And both standouts have been named co-MVPs of the Little 4 because of that.

The prestigious honor is the second straight for Coleman, who also was named MVP a year ago, after earning all-league honors as a freshman in 2024.

The influential junior has helped turn around the fortunes of the program, leading the South Fork girls to back-to-back conference titles to end what had been a 35-year championship drought.

Her influence was felt in all aspects of the game this spring.

With her younger sister Leila Coleman sidelined for much of the season because of injury, the junior standout stepped up to help fill that void and did not disappoint.

She led the Cubs with a 9-1 record and an ERA of 3.21 in the circle, while also averaging .484 at the plate which second only to all-league teammate Hailey Shepherd.

Mackenzie also had a team-best 15 doubles, as well as 27 RBIs.

But her influence on the team went beyond that.

“Mackenzie is an all-around great player,” South Fork head coach Lisa Todd said. “She consistently thinks ahead of every play, works well with her team, is a great leader and is willing to put in extra work and play wherever needed.

“When Leila was injured throughout most of league, Kenz stepped up and did an exceptional job on the mound.”

She is joined on the All-League team by her sister and Shepherd, as well as teammates Molly Perkins and Makenzie Brewer, each of whom also enjoyed big seasons with the Cubs in the race for the championship.

The Cubs closed out with a record of 16-10 and went 10-2 in the Little 4, winning 10 straight in conference play.

Colegrove was equally influential for the Warriors and helped keep them in the race for the conference crown until the final day of the regular season.

The influential senior was also an All-League selection last year after receiving an honorable mention in 2024.

Colegrove finished the season with a record of 15-5 in the circle and a very impressive ERA of 0.88.

She also had 157 strikeouts in 134.2 innings.

“Monteya’s performance on the mound was definitely a driving force behind our team’s success,” Hoopa head coach Ryan Colegrove said. “I’m not sure that she really understood the value of her own performance and how much she had to offer our team and the community in such an impactful way.

“I’m confident that she will continue to do great things.”

She is joined on the All-League team by Hoopa teammates Rikki Lipscomb and Angela Hern.

The Warriors pushed the Cubs all the way to the final day of conference play, but came up just short.

They closed out the season 17-9 overall and were 9-3 in the Little 4.

South Forks’ Kendall Kercher also received an all league honorable mention, as did Hoopa’s Kalia Mitchell, Tsisna McCovey, Kiera Ashley, Roxy Colegrove and Tylie McKinnon.

The Ferndale Wildcats, meanwhile, finished third in the final conference standings and had a pair of seniors included on the All-League team.

Madison Gossi, who will play basketball at College of the Redwoods next year, was included, along with teammate Tinnley Pidgeon.

The Cats finished 14-9 overall and were 5-7 in the Little 4.

Rounding out the all-league selections is St. Bernard’s senior Makinsey Lemley.

There were also four honorable mentions from Ferndale and St. Bernard’s.

Sisters Abigail Gossi and Olivia Gossi were included for the Wildcats, along with Quinn Stokesberry, while freshman Aryanna Osborne was included for the Crusaders.