Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The Charles Lakin baseball tournament has given us plenty of great moments over the past decade, but perhaps none as memorable as we witnessed on Friday night.

Playing in front of a big crowd at Belotti Field in Eureka, Big 5 rivals Eureka and McKinleyville served up a classic championship game.

And for the second straight year, it was the Panthers who prevailed, with Kolbey Stolpe scoring  teammate Bryce Sargent for a thrilling 4-3 walk-off win.

“That was one of the best high school games I’ve ever been involved in,” a delighted McKinleyville head coach Mike Dobrec said. 

Anyone who was in attendance would have a difficult time arguing the assessment.

“It was a well-fought game that went down to the final inning,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said.

The Panthers opened the scoring with a run in each of the third and fourth innings, before the Loggers came storming back with three runs in the top of the sixth.

The Eureka boys, who have been playing their best baseball of the season in recent weeks and had won eight of their previous nine games, always seem to rise to the occasion in the H-DN postseason tournament.

They maintained their slender advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh, but the Panthers would answer late in dramatic fashion.

Jackson Kelly led off with a walk and quickly stole his way to second.

Bryce Sargent then laid down a perfect bunt, and when the throw to first flew past the base, Kelly rounded his way to home plate to tie the game.

The momentum had switched again, and Stolpe would deliver the knockout punch just moments later with a base hit to center field that scored the winning run and secured the championship.

“Stolpe is just a great hitter,” Dobrec said. “He’s one of those kids you can throw in the fire and he’s going to give you everything he’s got.”

Even when injured.

The senior standout tweaked his hamstring in Thursday’s semifinal win over St. Bernard’s but wasn’t going to miss one of the biggest games of his career.

“He’s a gamer,” Dobrec said. “He toughed it out and played through the pain.”

He was also far from the only hero on a determined McKinleyville team.

Sophomore Joe Tanno had another big night on the mound and threw six strong innings, walking five and striking out seven.

“It was a huge team win for us,” Dobrec said. “One through 15 contributed. The bench was up the whole game.”

Stolpe took over on the mound in the top of the seventh and rounded out a memorable night with two strikeouts on his way to the win.

He finished 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, while Sargent also was 2-for-3, as was teammate Rhythm Green, who also had an RBI.

Green’s big performance followed his big night in last year’s Lakin championship game, and the sophomore seems to thrive in the HDN postseason tournament.

Despite the loss, the Loggers will carry plenty of momentum into next week’s North Coast Section playoffs and appear well poised to end a long playoff win drought.

Five different players had a hit for the team on Friday, none bigger than junior Garrett Levitt, who hit a two-run triple to center field in the top of the sixth to tie the game.

“Garrett Levitt came up with another huge extra base hit when we needed it,” Gale said. “He continues to impress at the plate.”

Robert Williams followed moments later with an RBI single, scoring Levitt to give his team a one-run advantage.

Bryson Burns, Alex Jimenez and Cole Zeller each also had a hit for Eureka.

The Loggers also enjoyed some strong pitching, including from starter Kyle Giacone.

The freshman threw four strong innings, giving up just two earned runs on four hits and three walks and striking out seven.

He kept his team in the game and rose to the occasion on a big stage for a young player.

“It was another great start on the mound from our freshman Kyle Giacone, who continues to give us chances to win ball games,” Gale said.

Ty Crawford closed out the game and gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out one.

“We had runners on almost every inning, just couldn’t get those clutch hits when we needed them,” Gale added.

Both dugouts also played big roles and helped create a good playoff atmosphere.

“Our dugout was loud,” Dobrec said. “It was kind of like having the 12th player in football. It was a good championship atmosphere and definitely a huge team win for us.

“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going through the playoffs.”

Likewise with the Loggers.

“We’ll wait to see what our NCS seed is on Sunday and get back to work next week,” Gale said.