Submitted photo – The Six Rivers Kings players and coaches celebrate their championship last weekend.

The Six Rivers Kings showed a lot of resiliency last weekend on their way to their first tournament win of the year.

Competing at the Redding Spring Fling, the local 14U travel baseball team dropped its tournament opener to Kelseyville but would bounce back to win four straight games on the way to the tournament championship.

And perhaps most gratifying of all, the Kings beat Kelseyville in a rematch in the final by a score fo 6-3.

“They showed some toughness,” head coach Tim Brogan said. “They were down after that first game. I wasn’t sure how they were going to react to it. But they went to work, and in each game they got better. They were not going to give up anything easy.”

The team traveled with just 11 players and all of them contributed on the way to the championship.

Pitchers Brayden Bermers and Kyle Giacone led the way on the mound and were outstanding over the two days.

The two staff aces combined to throw 15 innings over the five games and did not give up a single earned run.

“They both pitched amazing,” Brogan said. 

Several players had a big impact at the plate, including Scotty Brogan, who finished 5-for-8, and Bryson Burns, who had numerous RBIs.

Giacone and Jake Vasquez each also had a big impact at the plate, as the team bats continued to build momentum over the five games.

“Definitely the bats came alive, which helped a ton,” the head coach added. 

After debuting as a club last year, this year’s team features some new faces, including one of the top up-and-coming young baseball players in the county, Kaiwi Sharp, who has settled in with his new team quickly and was a key contributor both at the plate and on the mound.

Henry Hinrichs also played a key role and hit a big three-RBI double in the opening game to help get the team bats started.

After opening with two games on Saturday and going 1-1, the Six Rivers Kings won all three of their games on Sunday, including a 12-1 win over the NorCal Nationals and a 13-3 win over Breakout Baseball, on the way to the championship game.

Cash Mobley, Sidney Mefford, Bryce Pope and Max Collins each also played a big role on the way to the championship.

Mobley helped get the team bats going on Sunday, while Mefford got the start on the mound for the opening game on Sunday and gave up just two hits and no runs and struck out five.

Pope also had a big RBI double in Sunday’s opener, while Collins had one of the defensive plays of the tournament with a great catch in the outfield and also executed two “excellent sac bunts,” according to his head coach.

More than anything, it’s the players’ collective attitudes that has impressed the coaches this year.

“They definitely don’t get down,” Tim Brogan said. “And when they get on top, they stay on top.

“They’re very mechanically sound and we have a lot of strong pitching.”

Burns also impressed on the mound and closed out the championship game with a strong performance, while Scotty Brogan played behind the plate for most of the tournament, with Sharp also filling in at catcher.

The two catchers did not allow a stolen base all weekend.

The 14Us are one of two Six Rivers Kings teams this year, along with the club’s 11Us.

TJ Brogan is back as an assistant coach with the 14Us, with Cayden Pope also joining the staff this year.