Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville’s Crew Hicks is congratulated by teammates after hitting his third home run of the tournament on Thursday night.

The District 26 10U All-Star tournament went right down to the wire and ended in thrilling fashion on Friday night.

Trailing 5-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth and final inning of the championship game, the McKinleyville All-Stars rallied for a 6-5 win over Eel River to cap a highly-entertaining week at CandyStick Park in Willow Creek.

Reece Combs had the walk-off base hit, driving in teammate Crew Hicks from third for the game-winning run and sending McKinleyville on to next month’s section tournament in Cottonwood.

“For them to come back in that situation was huge,” McKinleyville head coach Quintin Carper said. “And that Eel River team is tough. You’ve got to give credit to them.”

It was the third meeting of the week between the two rival teams.

Eel River won 8-5 on Tuesday, but McKinleyville would rally with three straight elimination game victories, including a 16-1 win over Eel River on Thursday night to set up Friday’s winner-takes-all championship showdown.

“I think the league is getting better,” Carper said. “Redwood Empire and Eel River, their programs are really strong at all age groups.

“I got to give a shoutout to everybody’s that’s putting in the work. The whole community is getting into it.”

Friday night, however, belonged to the young Mack players.

Barely.

One night after they got blown out, the Eel River players responded well and came ready to play, opening up an early four-run lead and holding McKinleyville scoreless until the fifth inning.

Eel River’s Trey Florvilus was in commanding form on the hill and held the Mack bats in check for much of the night, getting eight of the first 10 batters he faced to pop up.

Submitted photo – The McKinleyville All-Stars celebrate their District championship on Friday night.

“He kept us off balance,” Carper said of the young pitcher. “We just couldn’t get a lot going and they made all the plays.”

The Mack bats, however, finally got going late in the game.

The Mixer twins, Colton and Jackson, got the party started in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back base hits to lead off the inning.

A Crew Hicks double would narrow the gap and a Casanova Marshall sac fly then tied the game as the momentum began to shift in favor of McKinleyville.

Combs’ big clutch hit then secured the walk-off victory and the District championship.

“The most impressive thing is just how the kids came back in the last inning,” Carper said. “They found a way to pull it together.”

Several players stepped up this week for the tournament champions, most notably Hicks, who hit his third home run of the week in Thursday’s win and has been a force at the plate, on the hill and on defense.

Hicks got the start on the mound for Friday’s game and had another good outing, before Marshall took over in relief and got the win.

Jacob Carper also had a big week at the plate and finished 3-for-3 in Thursday’s big win, while Kaydee Carper impressed at catcher as she continues to grow into the role.

Kaydee’s big performances behind the plate allowed the coaches to utilize Hicks in different spots and gives the Mack All-Stars some added options.

Jacob Carper got the win on the hill on Thursday.

Asher Kapko also impressed and pitched the majority of a 9-7 win over Redwood Empire to keep his team’s championship ambitions on track in an elimination game on Wednesday.

“He’s going to throw strikes and keep kids off balance,” Quintin Carper said of Kapko, who also made some defensive plays at second base and third base.

So too did Maverick Utt, who “made a lot of big time plays out in center field for us, and hit the ball well,” according to his coach, while the versatile Grady McConnell filled in at various positions, including second and third base, and also had a big week.

In addition to his thrilling walk-off base hit, Combs also had a big week pitching and has established himself as “one of our top dogs in the rotation,” Quintin Carper said.

“He’s kind of our shutdown guy,” the head coach said.

Marshall and the Mixer twins have also seen their game develop this summer and all three have some of the highest on-base percentages of any players on the team, showcasing their patience and eye at the plate.

“They’re tough outs,” Quintin Carper said. 

Marshall also impressed at shortstop and “his base running skills are next level,” his coach added.

Blake Smith also had a big week and helped set the tone in the opening game when he hit a two-RBI double on the first pitch he saw in his first-ever all-star at-bat.

Another first-time all-star, Kai Osbourne, also has quickly established himself as a key member of the team and enjoyed a breakout tournament.

“We’ve got high hopes for Kai,” his coach said. “He has all the tools and he’s big, fast and strong. He had a great week. He’s learning the game fast.”

The McKinleyville all-stars will now turn their attention to the the Section tournament, which gets under way on July 12.

“We’ve got a couple of weeks to keep building team chemistry,” the head coach said.

Nate Combs and Caleb Carper round out the coaching staff.

In other McKinleyville Little League news, all-star Breyden Brock, who suffered an arm injury in the District Tournament of Champions final, is doing well in his recovery.

It remains to be seen if the influential Brock will return to the field this summer, but he has been on hand supporting his 12U all-star teammates as they get set for their tournament opener in Southern Humboldt tis weekend.

For good measure, Brock is sporting the team colors with a red cast on his arm.