Submitted photo – The Eel River All-Stars and coaches celebrate their District championship earlier this week.

It was a tournament that had a little bit of everything for the Eel River 8-10 All-Stars.

On Tuesday evening, the tournament hosts secured the District 26 championship with a 3-1 win over McKinleyville in Fortuna.

The win was the third straight in tournament play for Eel River, a run that included a comfortable opening-round win, a thrilling walk-off victory and a hard-fought battle in the championship game.

And several of the players stepped up to the challenge on the way to the tournament title, which was achieved with some strong pitching and some sure-handed defense.

“Our pitching was strong,” Eel River manager Erik Bess said. “We pitched well and we played defense well.”

The District title keeps the season going for the Eel River All-Stars, who will now advance to next month’s Section Tournament, with a place in the NorCal state tournament up for grabs.

And the good news for the local district champs is that they won’t have to travel very far for the Section Tournament, which they will host in Fireman’s Park in Ferndale, beginning on July 11.

This week’s championship game was close.

A two-RBI double by Knox Danielson scored Reece Killingsworth and Kesler Lake, and that proved to be the difference in a tight game.

“That was a big one,” the Eel River manager said of the clutch hit. 

With pitchers Braden Bohn and Carter Bess delivering on the hill, the three runs was more than enough to secure the championship.

Bohn pitched four innings and struck out eight, before Carter Bess took over and closed out the game.

It was the young Bess’ third appearance of the tournament and he held the opposing bats scoreless in all three appearances.

Bohn enjoyed an outstanding few days in tournament action.

In addition to a couple of big performances on the hill, Bohn finished 4-for-7 at the plate over the three games and also played some strong defense up the middle when he wasn’t pitching.

Eel River opened with a 16-1 win over Klamath Trinity and also defeated Redwood Empire 8-7 on a walk-off on Sunday to advance to the championship round.

Carter Bess was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the decisive run against RELL.

Bowen Holmgren, Bohn, Danielson and Carter Bess combined on the mound against Klamath Trinity, with Holmgren, Carter Bess and Jayce Fockaert all pitching against RELL.

Lake also made some big plays at second base to help anchor the team defense.

But beyond what they did on the field, the Eel River players’ mental approach to the game also played a key role on the path to success.

“When they get rolling they stay rolling,” Erik Bess said. “They don’t hang their heads, they get right back in it and they compete.”

Carson Rogers, Gio Lanza, Dayton Lewis, Colt Robinson and Landon Kiser round out the talented squad and each also played key roles on the way to the championship.

Chad Lake and Trevor Bohn are assistant coaches with the team.

The McKinleyville All-Stars, meanwhile, came up just short in their bid for a District title, going 2-2 in tournament play.

“Unfortunately we just couldn’t get our offense going,” McKinleyville manager Quintin Carper said. 

After opening with a 4-2 loss to Redwood Empire, the Mack All-Stars responded with a comfortable win over Klamath Trinity and then defeated Redwood Empire 3-2 to reach the championship round and set up a rematch with Eel River.

Eight-year-old Chance Rolland got the win on the mound against RELL and was a big bright spot for the team.

“He’s a really good young pitcher,” Carper said. “He had a really good season pitching.”

Ridge Sandifer and Colton Lane combined on the mound against Klamath Trinity and both impressed, according to their coaches.

Submitted photo

Jaxon Mixer and Tristan Giacomini split time behind the plate for McKinleyville and both had good tournaments, while Tristan Cavanaugh made some nice plays in right field.

Colton Mixer also impressed on the mound, as did Jacob Carper in the opening game against RELL, while Bentley Sloan showed “lots of potential” at the plate, according to Quintin Carper.

Asher Kapko, Brody Austin, Earl Dart and Easton Ramsey rounded out the roster and each also played a key role on the march to the championship game.

“Hopefully we’ll be back,” Quintin Carper said. “But definitely it’s back to the drawing board.” 

Overall, the tournament was a big success.

“It was cool to host it,” Erik Bess said. “The fan turnout was great and hosting (the Section Tournament) is going to be really cool for the community down here.”

The five-team Section Tournament gets under way on July 11, with the Eel River All-Stars opening on July 12.