Submitted photo – The McKinleyville All-Stars celebrate their District championship this week.

By Ray Hamill — It’s Little League All-Star season and that means the best young local baseball players are taking center stage right now.

A pair of District 26 tournaments took place last week, with a third getting way earlier on Saturday.

And once again it was no surprise to see the young McKinleyville players enjoying plenty of success.

The most dominating local program in recent years took home another District championship earlier this week, when the 8-10s went 3-0 in tournament play, including a big 10-3 win over Eel River in Thursday’s championship game.

And that make them one of our two Teams of the Week, sponsored by College of the Redwoods Athletics.

Joining them are the Eel River 11-year-old All-Stars, who also won their District tournament.

The Eel River players won all three of their games in tournament play, including a 6-5 win over Redwood Empire in Tuesday’s championship game.

Our Athlete of the Week, meanwhile, goes to a Humboldt Eagles player who is coming off a huge week at the plate.

Former St. Bernard’s Crusader Cayden Lee, who played collegiately at Umpqua College in Oregon this past spring, has had a big impact at the plate since going the Eagles this summer.

Despite his team dropping three straight games this week, Lee led the way on a deep Eagles 19U lineup with 12 hits, including going 6-for-6 in a doubleheader against the Eureka Dukes on Sunday.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Cayden Lee

Humboldt Eagles 

After his six-hit performance on Sunday, Lee remained red-hot at the plate with four more hits in a doubleheader split against a good Petaluma Leghorns squad two days later.

He then carried that form into this week’s Medford tournament with two more base hits in a Friday night loss to the Medford Mustangs.

For more on his big week, see Eagles prepare for big test with doubleheader sweep …

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TEAMS OF THE WEEK

Eel River All-Stars

The young Eel River All-Stars were clutch this week with three big wins at the District 26 tournament.

After beating Arcata 8-4 in their opening game, the Eel River players won back-to-back one-run games, beating Redwood Empire 2-1 and following that with a come-from-behind extra-innings win over redwood Empire in the championship round.

The Eel River All-Stars will now turn their attention to the Section tournament.

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McKinleyville All-Stars

The most successful local Little League program in recent years is showing no signs of slowing down.

The young Mack All-Stars won all three of their games in tournament play, beating Eel River 9-5 in the opener and following that with an 11-5 win over Redwood Empire and a 10-3 win over Eel River in the championship round.

The Mack All-Stars will now turn their attention to next month’s Section tournament, which they will host at Hiller Park.

For more on their big week, see Unbeaten Mack All-Stars win another District championship …