Loggers drop Warriors 7-2

Del Norte falls to 4-4 in the Big 5

Facing Eureka in an important Big 5 Conference matchup, the Warriors committed three errors and gave up four runs in the first inning, along with the double, as they suffered a 7-2 home loss.

Prior to last Saturday, Del Norte was 4-1 in league play and in contention for the conference crown.

But two losses at McKinleyville on Saturday and Thursday’s loss against Eureka, which is the top-seeded team in the Big 5, have put those aspirations and hope of a playoff berth in serious jeopardy, as Del Norte fell to 4-4 in the conference and 8-7 overall.

Del Norte assistant coach Casey Duncan said that he and the rest of the coaching staff are quite frustrated with the team’s lack of focus and execution, especially on defense.

“Our concentration was terrible,” he said. “Our defense was not ready to play.”

The Warriors settled down after the first inning, with the defense improving its play for a period of time, including a  display of good reflexes for an out by starting pitcher Layton O’Reilley of a ball that quickly went off the bat and went directly at him, which he caught.

In the bottom of the first inning, Del Norte had the bases loaded with two outs, but they could not bring any runners home.

Things picked up for the Warriors in the fifth inning when Del Norte put up two runs on the board to reduce the Loggers’ lead to 4-2 and gave brief hope that a comeback could be in order.

That hope faded in the sixth inning when the Loggers smacked in three runs to put the game out of reach, as the Warrior defense regressed and started to commit errors again.

Travis Stacey went 2-for-3 for Del Norte. Barrett McClaflin was 1-for-2 with two RBIs and two walks. Aaron Fitch went 1-for-3 with a run.

O’Reilley pitched six innings and had four strikeouts. He gave up seven hits and three earned runs.

Thursday’s game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was delayed due to rain.

The Warriors have only four regular season games left on the docket. They  play a doubleheader at home on Saturday against second-place Arcata starting at 11 a.m. Next Friday, they will travel to Eureka for a doubleheader.

Duncan believes that the Warriors need to at least split against the Tigers on Saturday if they want to have a chance to make the playoffs.

“They have to come out ready to play,” Duncan said.