It hasn’t taken freshman Rylan Kees long to make an impact at the high school level.

The Arcata youngster has been an early-season bright spot for the Tigers, and that continued to be the case on Friday.

The Arcata boys traveled for the Fort Bragg tournament and opened with a 6-0 win over Middletown, and Kees enjoyed a big day on the hill, pitching a complete game for the shutout win.

“The highlight of the day was Rylan Kees threw an outstanding game,” Arcata head coach Troy Ghisetti said.

The Arcata freshman gave up just three hits in seven innings work and struck out 12.

This was the second straight win for the 2-4 Tigers, who also defeated Kelseyville 4-3 in 10 innings on Saturday in game two of a doubleheader, and Kees has posted both wins on the mound for the team.

Against Middletown he got plenty of offensive help, with seven Arcata players hitting successfully.

Rylan’s older brother, senior Tanner Kees, led the way at the plate and finished 2-for-4, while teammate Gavin Anderson was 1-for-3 with a double.

Darion Rex also made some noise at the plate and was 1-for-2, while Emilio Medina and Max Dixon each went 1-for-3.

“We faced a pitcher who was pretty good. He was getting up there at 81 or 82,” Ghisetti said. “I thought our kids stayed in. They battled, and when you have a pitcher like Rylan, who limited their bats on balls, we didn’t have to do much on defense.”

The freshman pitcher helped his own cause at the plate and finished 1-for-4, as did teammate Canyon Martin.

A young Arcata team, however, is still a work in progress.

“We’ve still got a long ways to go to even get ready for league,” Ghisetti said.

The Tigers will continue tournament play against Durham on Friday morning at 9 a.m.