Submitted photo – The McKinleyville Junior All-Stars celebrate their District championship last month.

A month off didn’t slow down the McKinleyville Junior All-Stars on Saturday.

The young Mack players opened play at the Section tournament at Hiller Park with a comprehensive 17-0 win over Quincy on Saturday afternoon.

The win sets up a Sunday showdown for the tourney hosts against South Siskiyous in the winners’ bracket at 1:30 p.m.

“It was a really complete performance,” McKinleyville head coach Casey Coelho said. “The kids hit the ball really well today, made some good defensive plays, and the big thing was Jake Brunner pitched a complete game.”

The impressive Brunner threw all six innings for the shutout victory and never allowed the Quincy bats to build any momentum.

“He threw a lot of strikes,” Coelho said of the young standout. “He did a good job mixing his off-speed with his fast ball and kept them off balance all game.”

He wasn’t the only standout for the McKinleyville 13-year-olds, who improved to 5-0 on the summer after also winning all four of their games at the District 26 tournament in early June.

Catcher Cabella Carper helped set the tone on defense with another big performance behind the plate.

Carper threw out a pair of Quincy runners trying to steal second.

The Mack bats had a big day at the plate on their way to scoring 17 runs.

“Our bats came alive today,” Coelho said.

The Juniors are one of three McKinleyville All-Star teams to advance to the Section tournament, along with the 10Us and 12Us.

The Redwood Empire 11U All-Stars also have advanced to their section tournament after recently winning the District 26 championship.

file photo