Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from last week’s tournament.

By Ray Hamill — It wasn’t the ending they were looking for at the District 26 tournament last week, but a group of young Eel River Little League All-Stars should benefit from the experience moving forward.

After winning their opening three games in tournament play at CandyStick Park in Willow Creek, the Eel River 10U All-Stars then lost back-to-back showdowns against McKinleyville to see their title hopes fade.

They led 5-2 going into the sixth inning of their final game on Friday, but the Mack All-Stars battled back to score four runs to take the District championship.

However, despite the disappointment, Eel River head coach Brandon Long believes his young players will learn from it.

“It was a bummer to lose,” he admitted. “But it was a great experience for the kids going forward for sure. High-pressure games like this, it helps develop these kids.”

It didn’t help matters when standout Ryker Lake was called up to the Eel River 11U All-Star roster, which was competing at the same time in their district tournament in Fortuna.

Without Lake, the 10U All-Stars just ran out of pitching over in Willow Creek.

“We played really well,” Long said. “We hit the ball well, we ran the bases well, we played good defense. We kind of just ran out of pitching at the end.”

Several of the Eel River players stepped up their games at the tournament, which included a victory over McKinleyville earlier in the week.

Young standout Trae Florvilus had a no-hitter going in the final game against McKinleyville before he reached his pitches limit, and he “pitched great,” according to his coach.

Kyler Carter also enjoyed a standout tournament and was consistently impressive at catcher in the hot conditions.

“He really kicked butt the whole tournament,” Long said. “He did really good.”

So too did young Trigg Pong, who Long describes as “probably the best (10U) center fielder in the county” and was outstanding both on defense and as his team’s lead-off batter, while Cannon Renner was the team’s most effective bat and led them in hits and RBIs when he wasn’t impressing at shortstop and second base.

Carson Renner also had a big tournament and was one of Eel River’s most effective pitchers, including a big performance in the win over McKinleyville, while the versatile Braeden Bohn had a good tournament pitching and playing left field.

According to the coach, Brady Long “played great all tournament and hit the ball well,” while James Dinsmore had a big week playing at third base and in the outfield.

“Our whole team played well,” Brandon Long added. “We played with a lot of energy. They’re super coachable. It was a fun group to work with.”

Hudson Free also impressed his coach after switching to the outfield at the last minute to fill a need, while Wade Hayes got some key hits and also gave his coaches some valuable time on the mound.

The team’s two nine-year-olds, Brodi Maniaci and Landon Clark each also contributed and impressed beyond their years.

“It was a big jump for them and they both did really well,” Brandon Long said.

Rounding out the roster, Bentley Weitzel suffered an injury and unfortunately missed much of the tournament, but that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for his teammates.

“He still came to practice and he worked hard for us,” the coach said. “It was great to have him helping out.”

Overall, the Eel River coach was impressed with the quality of play from all the teams in Willow Creek despite the relative youth of the players.

“The whole tournament was great,” he said. “It was one of the best all-around tournaments I’ve seen.”

Assistant coaches Trevor Bohn, Rob Hayes, Mark Carter and Rob Maniaci each also played a part in their team’s big week.

“They really helped make everything happen,” Brandon Long said.