Submitted photo – The Northern Humboldt Steelheads celebrate their recent championship at the Redding Spring Fling tournament.

Perseverance is paying off for one local youth baseball travel team.

After playing up a division last year and competing against teams a year older than they were, the Northern Humboldt Steelheads 10s are reaping the rewards this year.

The young Steelheads are on a roll this spring and have won three straight tournaments, including recent championships at a pair of tournaments in Redding, the March Madness tournament and the Spring Fling tournament.

“I’m super proud of them,” head coach Nate Combs said of his players. “For the last two years we played up (an age group) and it was tough sledding. We took our knocks and bumps along the way and now it’s their turn. They’re up to the challenge.”

At the Redding March Madness tournament, the young Steelheads defeated the Cottonwood Crush 6-4 in their semifinal and they followed that with an 8-0 win over the Jr. River Hawks in the final.

Crew Hicks and Jacob Carper each hit solo home runs in the semifinal, while Gavin Smith got the start on the mound and pitched five strong innings before Reece Combs closed things out.

In the final, the locals club blew open a tight game with six runs in the second inning, including a three-run home run by Carper, his second of the weekend, and a key hit by Maverick Utt.

Casanova Marshall also hit a key RBI double for a late insurance run, while young Combs gave up just one hit in a complete-game four inning performance on the hill.

According to Nate Combs, the team played good defense behind their pitchers all weekend.

At the more recent Spring Fling tournament, the Steelheads defeated the NorCal Mavericks 10-2 in the semifinal, before sealing a third straight tournament title with a 6-3 win over the Cottonwood Crush in the final.

Kaydee Carper and Grady McConnell led the way on offense over the weekend and were “just a force at the plate,” according to their coach.

In the semifinal, Hicks, Kaydee Carper, Jacob Carper and Tatum Brock all had key RBI hits as the Steelheads opened up an early 7-1 lead and never looked back.

Submitted photo

Marshall got the win on the mound, allowing just one hit and striking out nine.

The Steelheads would carry that momentum into the final.

According to the head coach, the team’s pitching staff of Treyce Conley, Cooper Jones, Brock, Smith, Hicks, McConnell, Marshall, Reece Combs has set the tone for the team this year, but that’s not the only strength of this team.

“They’re just doing a great job playing as a team,” Nate Combs said. “When the big power guys have an off day, other people pick up the slack. They’re just doing a good job of playing complementary baseball.

“We’re playing good defense, we’re aggressive on the bases, one through 12, and our pitching has been lights out, and when opposing teams get hits, our defense is there to back them up, and offensively we’ve got a lot of firepower.”

The head coach also praised contribution of Asher Kapko, who “has been instrumental in our success showing off his glove skills and timely hitting.”

“Treyce Conley, Crew Hicks and Jacob Carper can hit a ball over the fence at any moment,” the coach added.