Softball team splits vs. Arcata

Baseball squad drops both games against the Tigers

The Del Norte High softball team broke a four-game losing streak with a 5-4 victory over Big 5 Conference rival Arcata in the second game of a home doubleheader on Saturday.

The softball squad lost the first contest 5-2.

The Warriors baseball team continued to struggle, losing 12-0 and 5-3 to the Tigers on Saturday at home to drop five games in a row.

For the softball team, seven errors in the first game and leaving 10 people on-base were the key reasons for the loss, head coach Jackie Heuberger said.

“It was really frustrating,” she said.

Del Norte played better defensively in the second game, committing only three errors, which helped their cause, Heuberger said.

In game two, Del Norte came out fired up in the first inning.

With two outs, Keirstyn Anderson hit a single. Chandler Davis proceeded to reach first base on an error. Marissa Van Dyke smacked the ball into play to bring in both Davis and Anderson.

In the third inning, the Warriors scored another run to take a 3-0 advantage.

In the fifth inning, the Tigers came back to knot things up at 3-3. Arcata scored a run in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 advantage.

Down to their final three outs in the seventh inning, the Warriors went to work.

With one out, Anderson hit a double. The next batter, Davis, also hit a double to bring in Anderson and tie the game at 4-4.

With two outs, pinch hitter Tanasha Santos hit a single into right field to bring in Davis for the winning run.

 “It was huge,” Heuberger said about Santos’ hit. “She doesn’t hit very often for us but she’s worked very hard and it showed.”

The Warriors improved to 3-6 in the Big 5 and 6-13 overall.

Anderson went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs in the first game and 4-for-4 with an RBI and two runs in the second contest. Van Dyke was 3-for-3 in game two with a walk and 3 RBIs.

Del Norte ends the season on Thursday at home with a doubleheader against Fortuna that begins at 2 p.m.

In the baseball game, Del Norte struggled mightily in game one, losing 12-0 to the Tigers in six innings.

In the second game, Del Norte scored three runs in the third inning to take a 3-0 advantage.

Arcata knocked in five runs in the fifth inning to take the game 5-3.

Del Norte head coach Pablo Lorenzi said the squad is hurting itself by making too many errors in the infield and outfield, such as drops of fly balls.

“We’re still making the same fielding errors that have been hurting us,” he said.

And, hitting-wise, they have been way too inconsistent and have stranded too many runners, Lorenzi said.

“We’re hitting only in spurts,” he said.

Lorenzi said that he is “frustrated” that “we’re not playing very well under pressure. We’re not making plays when we need to.”

At one point this season, Del Norte was 4-1 in the Big 5 Conference and in contention for the conference title. The five losses have taken them out of the Big 5 title hunt and have seriously jeopardized any chance of a playoff berth.

Del Norte is now 4-6 in the Big 5 and 8-9 overall.

In the first game, Layton O’Reilley went 2-for-3 for the Warriors and Barrett McClaflin was 1-for 3. In the second game Ryland Hollins was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Travis Stacey went 2-for-3.

Lorenzi said that they need to win both games in the regular season finale, a doubleheader against Eureka, which is the top team in the Big 5, if Del Norte wants to play in the postseason. The games are scheduled for Friday at Eureka.