ARCATA (Aug. 6, 2010) — Bring on the Colt .45s.
Chris DeBoo threw eight strong innings and David Popkins hammered a two-run homer onto the freeway as the Humboldt Crabs downed the Folsom Pioneers 4-1 on Friday, setting up a showdown between a pair of 2-0 teams for the WCL Tri-State tournament championship on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
The Crabs got on board first, when Craig Smith tripled to lead off the bottom of the third and then scored on a groundout by Andrew Ayers. They might have scored in the second inning, but two different Crabs were thrown out trying to stretch doubles into triples.
Folsom quickly tied it up in the top of the fourth, only to see the Crabs jump right back on top in the bottom of the frame. Garrett Yrigoyen (#GarrettYrigoyen) singled, then scored when Justin Lamb rocketed a double to the 394-foot sign in left-center.
Popkins gave the Crabs some breathing room an inning later when, with Ayers on first after a walk, he turned on a pitch from Robert Wendzicki and deposited it onto Highway 101.
DeBoo improved to 6-0 with the win, and Tommy Gale pitched the ninth for his first save of the year.
Earlier in the day, the Redding Colt .45s topped the Southern Oregon RiverDawgs 7-5, meaning both Redding and the Crabs are undefeated heading into their matchup on Saturday, a winner-take-all affair to decide who gets to call themselves champions.