Submitted photo – The Lost Coast Legends 10U players and coaches celebrate their championship win over the weekend.

It was a good weekend for local youth baseball and for one Humboldt County team in particular.

Competing at the Rumble in the Redwoods youth baseball tournament, the Lost Coast Legends 10Us capped a perfect run through tournament play with a victory over a local rival in Sunday’s championship game.

The tournament, which was co-hosted by the Legends, the Six River Kings and the Northern Humboldt Steelheads, took place at three locations around the county and featured a total of  25 teams competing in brackets from 10U to 14U, including 19 out-of-area teams.

And it was the Legends who earned bragging rights in the 10U bracket with four wins in four games, including a 10-6 win over the Redwood Giants in the championship game.

“The tournament was a total team effort,” Legends head coach Ryan Plotz said.

A powerhouse 10U bracket featured several competitive teams, including the Legends, Steelheads, Redwood Giants, NorCal Mavericks (Chico), Southern Oregon Timberwolves (Roseburg) and Mendo Dirtbags (Ukiah).

Matthew Plotz of the Legends helped set the tone for his young teammates with a big performance in the championship game, pitching 4.1 innings in relief and giving up just three hits against a dangerous Giants lineup.

Louis Moorehead also impressed for the Legends in the championship game, pitching the final two outs to help seal the victory, just moments after he also made an outstanding catch in deep center.

For good measure, Moorehead also led his team at the plate and finished with seven hits in tournament play.

There were several other standouts on the way to the championship.

Guido Satterlee and Carter Conrad were clutch at the plate all weekend.  

Guido finished with six hits, including three doubles and a triple, while Carter had five hits, including four doubles, one of which was a walk-off to send the Legends to the championship game. 

One of the youngest players at the tournament, eight-year-old Dawson Morgan, also impressed and showed why he has a bright future ahead of him.

According to the coach, Morgan “was a force” all weekend and led the team in batting average (.625) while driving in several runs.  

“The kid was incredible this weekend,” Ryan Plotz said.

Jameson Tyson also made some big contributions on both sides of the ball.  

“His shutdown defense at second during the championship game was huge for us,” Ryan Plotz said. 

Catcher Na-res Ballew “was a wall behind the plate, solidifying our defense during bracket play,” according to the coach, and she helped celebrate her birthday over the weekend with some clutch hits in big moments.

Charlie Smith anchored the team defense at first base and continued to impact the lineup in the cleanup spot, while Blake Smith “was on fire at the plate, coming up big in the middle of our lineup with five clutch hits in big moments,” his coach added.  

“He was a tough out all weekend,” Ryan Plotz said. 

Jace Johnson, who just turned nine, had a big weekend on the bases.  

“The kid could not be stopped, his coach said. “He was so aggressive and set the tone for how Legends run bases.”

Not to be out-done, Logan Mayberry and Blake Machado also had big tournaments for the Legends in the outfield.

Mayberry had one of the plays of the tournament with what his coach described as “an incredible, momentum swinging catch in center field” on Sunday morning to help advance the Legends to the final.

“He was so pumped up after that catch it really changed the whole dynamic of the game,” Ryan Plotz said.  

Machado, meanwhile, was “Mr. Consistent in the outfield,” said his coach, who added “He’s a vacuum and made some incredible plays that saved multiple runs.”

At the plate, Machado also hit a huge triple that scored multiple runs and kept a big inning alive.

The Legends head coach also praised the efforts of the three host clubs and all the volunteers for helping to put on such a successful tournament.

The Legends are back in action in a tournament in Eugene on August 10 and 11.