Two big first innings spelled trouble for the Del Norte High baseball team as Arcata High swept the Warriors, 8-7 and 7-1, in a doubleheader Saturday in Arcata.

The Warriors (5-10 overall, 1-5 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League) opened the first game with an RBI double by Nathan Porter, an RBI single for Dylan Pease and a fielder’s choice by Josh Barriga that allowed Pease to score. The Tigers (12-6, 4-3 HDN Big 5) exacted revenge in the bottom of the first inning, tagging Warriors starter Jonathan Calderon for six runs on seven hits.

The Warriors closed the gap to within one run before Arcata scored two runs in the sixth inning to give the Tigers an 8-5 lead. Josiah Johnson’s two-run single was all Del Norte could manage in the seventh inning.

Johnson, Pease, Porter and Aaron Fitch each had two hits in the game.

Del Norte High track this week 

The Del Norte High track and field team plays host to the Humboldt-Del Norte League Qualifier meet this Thursday at Del Norte High School.

Field events begin at 4 p.m., with track events slated to start at 4:30 p.m. The top eight in each event will qualify to participate in the HDN White Star meet on May 10, to be held at Fortuna High.

Junior Tennis Playday on Sat.

The Del Norte Tennis Association is hosting the Del Norte Junior Tennis Playday on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Del Norte High School tennis courts.

Children ages 6–14 are welcome to attend, and tennis equipment will be available to use.

For more information, call 707-458-3158 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Del Norte High freshman Kobie Lockwood shot an even-par 69 in Thursday’s Humboldt-Del Norte League tournament at Eureka Municipal Golf Course to win the Humboldt-Del Norte League individual championship. Lockwood won four of the seven HDN League tournaments in 2013 en route to his overall victory. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Lockwood becomes first Del Norte golfer to win league title since 2003

There is no better way to finish off the regular season of high school golf than to shoot a season-best round en route to a championship.

Del Norte High freshman Kobie Lockwood accomplished just such a feat in Thursday’s Humboldt-Del Norte League tournament at Eureka Municipal Golf Course in Eureka, shooting an even-par 69 to capture the Warriors’ first individual league championship since James Haban won the HDN League in 2003.

Lockwood’s win gave him a combined placement of 16 in the seven league tournaments. Eureka High’s Aaron Russell finished with a combined placement of 27 as the runner-up. Russell’s teammate, Logan Olson, ended the season in third place (36).

Russell challenged Lockwood at the Eureka Muni tournament but ultimately came in second, carding a 1-over 70.

The Loggers cruised to the HDN team championship with a combined stroke total of 2,763. McKinleyville High finished in second place at 3,010 strokes, and St. Bernard’s Catholic High (3,078) held off Del Norte (3,146) for the No. 3 position.

Lockwood will compete in the California Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section Division I Qualifier on Monday, May 6, for a spot in the NCS Tournament of Champions. The NCS Division I qualifier will take place at Deer Ridge Golf Club in Brentwood, a par-71 course.

Del Norte High hosts HDN League Qualifier meet on Thursday

The Del Norte High track and field team took the fourth Humboldt-Del Norte League meet of the season a little easier for one main reason: It could afford to.

With several team members nursing minor injuries, the Warriors sent a smaller squad than normal to Wednesday’s HDN League meet at McKinleyville High School.

“This is a reflection of us having limited kids to specific events,” Warriors head coach Samuel Escobar said. “We have to participate in league meets and we met our obligations.”

Regardless of squad size, Del Norte still made its presence felt. The Warriors varsity boys came in third in the team standings with 68 points, behind Fortuna High (153) and host McKinleyville High (93).

Chad Bell was the lone individual to win an event on Wednesday, notching a personal-best triple jump of 41 feet, 1 inch in the victory. The sophomore also finished second in the long jump (personal-best 20-1) and third in the high jump (5-10).

Senior Dalton Alexandre earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles (16.40) and 300-meter hurdles (42.89). Alexandre also finished third to Bell and Fortuna’s Josh Jorgensen in the triple jump (40-0).

Freshman Jesus Lara took fourth place in the 800 (2:12.23) and fifth in the 1,600 (4:49.88).

“He competed with the big boys and held on,” Escobar said of Lara’s performance. “He’s probably going to place in the top six in both events.”

Butch Haynes of the Sacramento area celebrated his 73rd birthday April 18 by catching a hatchery springer on the lower Rogue River while fishing with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. The salmon hit an anchovy fished with a size 4 Hilderbrandt gold blade and size 2 Lazer Sharp round bend treble hook. He fought the king with a Wright & McGill Alaskan Heavy Drifter salmon rod. Courtesy of Andy Martin / Wild Rivers Fishing

Heavy wind keeps boats off the ocean around the Mendocino Management Area

To the north, in-river anglers have been pulling spring salmon from the Rogue River for a couple weeks, but here in Crescent City, all eyes are on the ocean salmon opener on Wednesday, when anglers hope to seize on what is predicted to be another good ocean salmon season.

Crescent City ocean salmon season

The North Coast’s sport ocean salmon season starts Wednesday, May 1, but there’s no telling what the bite will be like until anglers hit the water.

There have been reports of salmon jumping and being accidently caught during commercial bottom fishing — possible indicators of a good salmon season.

Crescent City’s only ocean charter operation, Tally Ho Sportfishing, is not planning on salmon fishing on the opener, but Captain Craig Strickhouser said if enough folks ask him to go out salmon fishing, he’ll arrange a trip.  

The ocean sport season lasts from May 1 to Sept. 8, with a two-salmon (not including coho) per day limit and a Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches.

Plenty of Crescent City anglers have been gearing up for the ocean salmon season, according to folks at Englund Marine, who said that the ocean salmon interest indicates that there may be a formidable sport salmon fleet, which makes it easier to find the schools of fish.

Del Norte High junior Aaron Fitch went 2 for 2 with a triple, a double, a walk, two RBI and a run scored in the Warriors’ 5-3 loss to Eureka High on Wednesday night in Eureka. Del Norte Triplicate / Rick Postal

Three times, the Warriors gave up the lead.

The last time, they gave up the game along with it.

The Loggers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and retired Del Norte in order in the top of the seventh in a 5-3 victory at Eureka High School.

Aaron Fitch was the losing pitcher for the Warriors (5-8 overall, 1-3 HDN Big 5) in his first start of the season. The junior allowed four runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking six batters and hitting one while striking out three. Luke Seats relieved Fitch for the final 2/3 of an inning.

While Fitch ran into trouble on the mound, he excelled at the plate. 

His double in the first inning plated Chris Bray for the game’s first run. His triple in the fourth inning allowed Nathan Porter to score and give Del Norte a 2-1 lead.

Fitch was picked off third base by the Loggers after his triple, in the third of three such instances that took place for the Warriors. Eureka (8-8, 3-1 HDN Big 5) quashed the Del Norte rally and parlayed a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth inning into a 3-2 lead.

Smedley hits grand slam, but Del Norte softball loses Wed.

The Del Norte High softball team lost to Eureka High, 6-4, in a Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League contest at Eureka High School on Wednesday afternoon.

The Loggers (10-5-1 overall, 4-0 HDN Big 5) took an early 6-0 lead before Warriors junior Ashton Smedley hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, the first by a Del Norte player this season (and the team’s third home run). 

However, the Warriors’ offense was unable to generate any more runs in the final two innings.

Camryn Ridgley threw a complete game as the losing pitcher for Del Norte, which saw its HDN Big 5 record drop to 2-2 (6-9-1 overall). 

The Warriors will face Arcata High in a Saturday doubleheader at Arcata High School, beginning at 11 a.m.

Kobie Lockwood prepares to drive his ball at the eighth hole of Del Norte Golf Course during Monday’s Humboldt-Del Norte League tournament. The Del Norte High freshman won the individual championship (72, 1-over) by two strokes. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Each Del Norte golfer cards a round of 90 or better, led by Kobie Lockwood’s 72

A true team effort lifted the Del Norte High boys golf team to third place in Monday’s Humboldt-Del Norte League golf tournament at Del Norte Golf Course.

Warriors freshman Kobie Lockwood earned medalist honors with a 1-over-par 72, but the other six members of the Del Norte squad all shot 90 or better on a sunny, breezy day.

“Best scores of the year,” Warriors coach Kirk Burrows said. “Great improvement. That was kind of the magic mark, 90. Everybody’s doing a good job.” 

In all, Del Norte tallied a combined stroke total of 424, trailing team champion Eureka (389 strokes) and tournament runner-up McKinleyville (422).

Lockwood took the individual championship by two strokes over Houston Knox of St. Bernard’s Catholic High (74) and three over Ferndale High’s Terris Becker (75). His combined placement total of 16 through six HDN League tournaments is 10 better than that of Eureka High’s Aaron Russell, Lockwood’s closest competitor in the league standings.

“I hit my irons really good (Monday), which let me hit greens in regulation,” Lockwood said.

His round could have been even better. 

Del Norte sophomore Jonathan Calderon, left, struck out four McKinleyville batters and did not issue a walk in an 8-2 loss in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader to the Panthers. Del Norte Triplicate / Rick Postal

McKinleyville takes advantage of Warrior errors to sweep doubleheader

The Del Norte High baseball team employs a pair of colorful visual metaphors to demonstrate the power of momentum.

Offensively, hitting begets hitting begets more hitting — picture a big white snowball rolling down a hill, picking up mass as it goes. Conversely, pitching and defensive errors metastasize in similar fashion — a big yellow snowball rolling down a hill.

McKinleyville High swept the Warriors, 8-2 and 7-2, in a Saturday doubleheader at Del Norte High School. The weather report: Sunny, clear skies, gusts of wind and a blizzard of yellow snow.

“I’m just kind of in shock right now,” Del Norte head coach Travis Johnson said. “Mentally, we did not show up.”

The Warriors (5-7 overall, 1-2 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League) committed nine errors combined against the Panthers (7-7, 3-2 HDN League) and made mistakes along the basepaths that exacerbated matters.

Del Norte took an early 1-0 lead in the first game when sophomore Steven Maready laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to bring senior Ryan Gomes home in the third inning.

In the fourth, Gomes dropped a ball hit by McKinleyville’s McLean Johnson to him in right field with a runner on. That runner scored, and Johnson advanced to third base on the error. The Panthers scored Johnson and Parker Farris to take a 3-1 lead.

Three days after a heartbreaking, extra-inning loss to Fortuna High, the Del Norte High softball team swept McKinleyville High in a Saturday doubleheader at Del Norte High School.

The Warriors won the first game, 6-4, and the second game, 7-1, to improve to 6-8-1 overall (2-1 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League). The Panthers slipped to 4-12 overall (0-5 Big 5).

Del Norte head coach Tom Moore and assistant coach Rick White credited the Warriors with an improved defensive effort, after several late mistakes led to the Huskies’ victory in Del Norte’s league opener.

“They played small ball at the start, and all their runs came on that,” White said of McKinleyville. “Once we took that away, they didn’t have an answer.”