After pushing the Humboldt Crabs in three previous meetings this season, the Humboldt Steelheads finally got the better of their North Coast rivals in a thrilling 7-6 win at the Arcata Ballpark Sunday afternoon.

The Steelheads scored five runs in the sixth and led 7-4 going into the bottom of the ninth, before the Crabs made things interesting by pushing across two runs in a two-out rally and leaving the bases loaded.

“It got a little bit tight at the end, but that’s baseball,” said winning pitcher Zach Carper, who turned in a stellar performance, allowing just four hits in five innings. “We came out and competed and outplayed them.”

After being outscored 45-7 in four losses to the Crabs last summer, a much-improved Steelheads squad held the Crabs to just 14 runs in four games this summer, with three of those contests decided by just a single run.

Trailing 4-1, the Steelheads took the lead with a big sixth, keyed by a Kevin Ayers RBI single, which scored Kelly Miller, who had led off with a base hit.

Lee Hawkins followed that with a two-RBI double to center field, before Kirk Thurston added a two-RBI single to put his team up 6-4.

Hawkins came up clutch again in the top of the eighth, driving in what would prove to be a crucial insurance run on a sacrifice fly, scoring Ayers who led off with a single.

“They were hungry. They wanted it obviously after the last time we played them,” Crabs manager Matt Nutter said of the Steelheads. “They came out fired up.”

John Parham came up big for the Crabs (17-6), finishing 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the second.

“I thought our guys deserved to come out on top based on how well we played today and the last three times we played them,” said Steelheads manager David Sharp.

The Steelheads improved to 8-9 with the win, their first over the Crabs in two years.

Crabs starter Isaac Johnson allowed six earned runs in five innings.

Steve Shamblin and Brad Moore each pitched well in relief for the Steelheads, who had to overcome five errors on the way to the win.