baseball

Busy weekend for McKinleyville, Del Norte All-Stars

File photo – The McKinleyville 12-year-old All-Stars.

The McKinleyville 10-year-old All-Stars remain in contention for a Northern California state championship after a busy few days for the local teams.

The 10-year-olds fell 6-1 to San Mateo on Sunday night, suffering their first loss in the double-elimination tournament in Turlock.

They will continue tournament play against Chowchilla on Monday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

The McKinleyville 12-year-olds, meanwhile, lost for the second straight day on Sunday to bow out of their tournament in Watsonville.

McKinleyville dropped a close one to Los Gatos, 6-4.

Also in action on Sunday, the Del Norte Senior All-Stars lost the battle of the Great Northwest state champions to bow out of the Western Region Tournament in Oakland.

The Oregon state champs fell 21-0 to the Washington champions, closing out tournament play 1-2.

The McKinleyville 10s will now try to battle their way back through the elimination bracket as they remain the last standing local team.

Four outstanding San Mateo pitchers held the Mack bats hitless in Sunday’s defeat and combined for 14 strikeouts.

“That was probably the best pitching team I’ve ever seen at this age group in California,” said longtime McKinleyville manager Carlos Avelar.

Liam Currell scored McKinleyville’s only run of the game after being walked to reach base.

Colton Hawkes also had two walks, while Teoh Arredondo, Jared Brunner and Asher Avelar each also had a walk.

The McKinleyville 12s, meanwhile, enjoyed a remarkable postseason that saw them win nine straight elimination games on their way to the District and Section championships.

“They went way above and beyond everyone’s expectations,” manager Patrick Green said. “I was very happy with the effort they put in.”

Tate Saso closed out strong with a two-run home in the top of the first to give McKinleyville an early lead against Los Gatos.

Jake Brunner also closed out strong with a solo home run in his final career Little League at-bat.

Brunner got the start on the mound and pitched well, according to Green, as did Lincoln Hungerford in relief.

The Del Norte Senior All-Stars, meanwhile, dropped their tournament opener 31-1 to SoCal on Friday, before getting a forfeit win over Wyoming on Saturday.

Saxon Taylor hit a double in Friday’s loss.

Leave a Reply