File photo – The Six Rivers Kings at a recent San Francisco Giants game. The 13U team is enjoying an impressive debut season.

Some young local players got to experience something new this past weekend, as the Six Rivers Kings 13Us continued their impressive debut season as a team.

The local travel team, which is made up of players from McKinleyville, Eureka, Fortuna, Ferndale and Southern Humboldt, traveled to compete at the Tahoe Wood Bat Western Regional tournament and enjoyed another big showing despite having just nine players on hand and playing with wood bats for the first time in a tournament.

The Kings won their opening three games on Friday and Saturday before falling 11-3 to the NorCal Black team in Sunday’s semifinal.

“I think the altitude and only having nine guys, it caught up with us,” head coach Tim Brogan said.

The nine players certainly impressed early in tournament play, as the Kings beat the Die Hards 4-1 in their opener on Friday and followed that with victories over the Hit Club Orange (12-0 in four innings) and NWDS (8-3), the latter coming against a well-respected club.

Jesse Young, Jake Vasquez and Brayden Bermers combined to lead the offense in the opener, while left fielder Lucas Ask had the defensive play of the game when he threw a “missile” to home plate, according to his coach, to stop a runner from scoring.

Bermers, Bryson Burns and Scotty Brogan all also impressed on the mound, holding their opponents to just one run.

Scotty Brogan carried that momentum into the game against the Hit Orange Club and got the start on the hill, pitching three scoreless innings and allowing just three hits and striking out five.

Cash Mobley closed out the game, throwing nothing but strikes in the fourth and final inning.

Young and Kyle Giacone led the offensive onslaught and each was 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Bermers finished 1-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs.

The speedy Kings stole 12 bases in the win.

The Kings had arguably their most impressive win on Saturday against NWDS.

Giacone finished 1-for-3 with a two-RBI triple, while Young was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.

Scotty Brogan also was 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Bermers was 2-for-2 and Vasquez and Henry Hinrichs each was 1-for-2.

Submitted photo – Some of the Kings players enjoy themselves at Kings Beach in Lake Tahoe during a break from the baseball action over the weekend.

Giacone got the start on the hill and struck out four in three innings, with Burns pitching two hitless innings in relief and Bermers closing out the game.

The Kings continued to play aggressively on the bases on their way to stealing seven more bases, something that has become a strength of this team.

According to the head coach, assistant coaches TJ Brogan and Justin Jimenez “have been keeping the opposition off balance with small ball and fearless base running.”

Giacone and Scotty Brogan continued to impress in Sunday’s loss with a pair of hits each.

Giacone had a pair of doubles and Brogan had one, with Hinrichs and Vasquez each hitting a double and Ask and Bermers adding a single each.