Submitted photo – The Steelheads celebrate their tournament win on Sunday.

The Northern Humboldt Steelheads 12Us got their season off to a winning start at the March Mayhem tournament in Medford over the weekend.

The local baseball travel team went 3-1 in tournament play on the way to the championship, defeating the North Medford Tornado 3-2 in the decider.

The Steelheads started tournament play with a 12-3 win over Palo Cedro, with Cabella Carper hitting a third-inning home run for the offensive highlight of the day.

Breyden Brock and Hudson Kapko combined for six strikeouts on the mound.

The Steelheads dropped their second game 6-5 to the Medford Gashouse, with Everest Gruetzmacher leading the way at the plate and finishing 2-for-2.

Carson Hicks and Rylan Kees each pitched well against a very strong Gashouse offense.

The Steelheads, however, would bounce back to beat the same team in Sunday’s semifinal, 6-5.

After giving up four runs in the first inning, the Steelhead bats came alive with Hicks leading the way and finishing 3-for-3.

Closer Blake Carper came in to secure the victory with a dominating performance on the mound, allowing just one more run for the win, while Kees had a big game behind the plate.

The championship game was a pitchers’ duel, with Justin Noga getting the start on the mound for the Steelheads and pitching three strong innings.

Teoh Arredondo was equally impressive in relief, holding the Tornado scoreless despite coming in with the bases loaded and no outs, and also striking out five.

Tyson Marshall provided the offensive highlight of the game with a home run.

“I feel like it was a great way to start our 12U season and definitely a confident booster for our next tournament in Arizona just one week away,” head coach Jaime Arredondo said.