Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Not only is McKinleyville Little League producing some of the best young baseball talent in Humboldt County, but they’re producing some of the best young teams in all of Northern California.

This weekend, three of the association’s four all-star teams will play for a NorCal state championship, with all three teams opening tournament play on Saturday.

The 13-year-old Junior All-Stars will play in Millbrae, opening against Lincoln Glen at 11:30 a.m., while the 12-year-old All-Stars will play in Stockton, opening against Capitola-Soquel at 1 p.m.

Closer to home, the McKinleyville 8-10 All-Stars will host their state tournament at Hiller Park, opening at noon against Dublin.

California is one just one of two states — along with Texas — to hold two state tournaments, with both 12-year-old state champion teams advancing to the West Region Tournament to compete for a berth in this year’s Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

All three of the state tournaments McKinleyville is involved in will feature seven teams from the northern half of the state and a double-elimination format.

The 8-10s tournament also includes teams from Madera American, Fair Oaks Orangevale, Turlock, Twin Cities and Aptos, with the latter playing the winner of the McKinleyville/Dublin game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The tournament will feature three games on Saturday, with Madera American playing Fair Oaks Orangevale at 2:30 p.m. and  Turlock and Twin Cities playing at 5 p.m.

If the Mack all-stars drop their opening game they will play again on Monday at 3:30 p.m.

The young Mack team is 7-1 this postseason, including a thrilling 16-8 extra-innings win over Chico Central in their section tournament championship at Hiller Park on Wednesday.

The McKinleyville 12s, meanwhile, are a perfect 6-0 in the postseason so far, with unbeaten runs through the district and section tournaments.

If they win their opening game on Saturday, they will play the winner of the Bollinger Canyon/Maidu game on Sunday at 1 p.m., while if they drop their opener they will play again on Sunday at 4 p.m.

For the second straight weekend, the Mack 12-year-old all-stars will also have to face extreme heat, with a high of 107 forecast for the Stockton area on Saturday.

The McKinleyville Juniors, however, won’t have that concern when they travel to Milbrae in the Bay Area, with a much more comfortable high of 73 forecast for Saturday.

The Mack all-stars are 8-1 on the season and showed a lot of fight battling back from an opening-day defeat at their section tournament, winning four straight games on the way to the championship.

If they beat Lincoln Glen in their opener on Saturday, they will advance to play the winner of the Delta Sunrise/Rincon Valley game on Sunday at 11:30 a.m., while if they drop their opener they will play an elimination game on Sunday at 2 p.m.