McKinleyville Juniors claim Section title with hard-fought win

By barstoolfanatics on July 10, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Tuesday’s game at Hiller Park.

By Ray Hamill — Another big summer for McKinleyville Little League continued on Tuesday as their Junior All-Stars secured the Area 2 Championship with a hard-fought win at Hiller Park.

The Mack All-Stars had to battle all the way once again, however, on their way to a second 6-5 win over South Siskiyou in three days.

In an exciting game that saw the lead shift multiple times, the tournament hosts had the last say, taking a lead they would not relinquish in the fourth inning and holding on down the stretch to complete an undefeated run through tournament play.

“We found ways to get runners across the bases and we were also able to get some hits at the right time,” McKinleyville head coach Casey Coelho said. “It was a back-and-forth game and the kids just grinded it out.

“Both of those games (against South Siskiyou) were hard-fought games.”

Becker Rine got the start on the mound for McKinleyville and battled hard for 4.1 innings, with Brylon Smith and Tate Saso also impressing in relief.

“Becker didn’t have his best command, but he grinded through four-plus innings and gave us a chance to stay in the game and win it,” Coelho said.

Rine also had a huge play on defense, tracking down a hard-hit ball to right center field for a key out in the seventh.

Corbin Green led a seven-hit team performance at the plate and finished 2-for-3 to cap an impressive few days in tournament play.

“Corbin had a good tournament,” his head coach said. “He found his bat.”

Saso, who also enjoyed a standout tournament, finished 1-for-2 and almost had a home run, while Bowdy Hicks finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and Smith was 1-for-2.