Humboldt Crabs Baseball

Manoa Chapman and Alex Harrington each had three hits as the Crabs made it three straight wins against the West Coast Kings at the Arcata Ball Park on Thursday night.

The Crabs, who had broken out of a six-game losing streak with a doubleheader sweep the previous night, took the series with a 6-4 win.

They took control of the game with four runs in the bottom of the second inning and led 6-0 after three.

But the visiting Kings would make things interesting late.

Trailing by four going into the ninth, the Kings added two runs to their tally, but the Crabs held on for another much-needed win.

With the victory, the Crabs improved to 30-10 overall and 14-9 in the Pacific Empire League, and they remain fourth in the league standings.

If the Crabs are to qualify for this year’s PEL championship series there is little room for error the remainder of the way, including a challenging two-game stand with the league-leading Healdsburg Prune Packers in Arcata this weekend.

Chapman had a season-highlight performance in Thursday’s win, finishing 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, five RBIs and a run.

Harrington also had a big game, finishing 3-for-4 with a run.

Ryan VandenBrink added two hits in a 10-hit team performance.

Miles Oliver got the start on the mound and pitched four scoreless innings for the win.

The former Arcata Tiger allowed three hits and one walk and struck out four.

The Crabs and Kings will close out their five-game series on Friday night, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.

With the loss, the Kings dropped to 18-19 overall and 9-15 in the PEL.