Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
By Ray Hamill — Get ready for one of the busiest weekends of the summer for local baseball, as the Humboldt Eagles get set to host their annual tournament.
The four-day tournament begins on Thursday afternoon and will feature a total of 12 teams competing in 19U and 17U brackets.
The 30 tournament games will be split between two venues, with the 19Us playing at Belotti Field across from the Redwood Acres and the 17Us playing at the Redwood Fields in Cutten.
Four other local teams will join the Eagles at the tournament.
The Southern Humboldt 76ers and Wild Cactus baseball are included with the Eagles in the 19U bracket, while the Northern Humboldt Giants and Southern Humboldt Patriots will be included in the 17U bracket.
The action gets under way on Thursday afternoon with six games scheduled for opening day, three in each bracket.
In 19U action, Wild Cactus opens against Colts B at 2:30 p.m., followed by the 76ers and Colts A at 5 p.m. and the Eagles and Post 174 (Willits) at 7:30 p.m.
Opening day action for the 17Us include the Giants and Colts at 12:30 p.m. and the Patriots and Lassen at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be a creative handful of games,” said Eagles head coach Tommy Gale, who expects to have around 13 players for the tournament. “We’re going to call on some guys to step up pitching wise and we’re going to ask these guys to pitch a lot and give us some good pitching performances, and that will give us a chance to win.”
The host Eagles are hoping to add a few more experienced players to help round out their roster for the tournament, including former H-DNL stars Cody Collins of Fortuna and Ethan Thomas of Del Norte.
“I’m excited to have these guys and grateful they’re making room on their schedule,” Gale added.
The good news for some of the younger Eagles players is the fact they are getting some valuable game time playing against 19U players this summer, and, according to Gale, it has been a great experience for them.
And that’s something that should help them continue to develop for their high school teams.
It’s also a group of players that have bonded well this summer.
“I think the camaraderie has been fun to watch,” Gale said of his players. “This being a small area, these guys all know each other well, and that’s been fun to watch. They’re s fun group.”
Gale also praised the work of the players’ families and the Eagles organization for the role they all played in helping to stage such a big tournament.
“Our whole organization and the families have volunteered a lot of hours to make sure it runs well,” he said. “We’re all coming together as a community.”
This week’s scheduled Monday night game between the Eagles and the Giants was postponed and may be rescheduled for a later date.
