By Ray Hamill — The dynasty is alive and well.

On Friday night, the McKinleyville Panthers secured a third straight Charles Lakin Tournament championship with a third straight final victory over Eureka, prevailing 5-1 in front of a large crowd at the Arcata Ball Park.

The victory also secured a Big 5 and Lakin tournament championship double, the second for the program in three years.

It’s a testament not only to what head coach Mike Dobrec has built at McKinleyville High School, but also to the town of McKinleyville and the best Little League program on the North Coast for much of the past decade.

“I think it’s a huge statement for the program,” Dobrec said. “We’re the smallest school in the Big 5 and McKinleyville is producing some phenomenal baseball players.”

The Mack coach also praised the contributions of McKinleyville Little League and the Northern Humboldt Steelheads travel teams for helping to nurture the talent in the area and added “it’s going to keep coming for years.”

With the win, the Panthers improved to 23-2 and they have now compiled a remarkable record of 66-14 over the past three seasons.

And all of that McKinleyville talent was on full display on Friday night, as the Panthers continued to roll with another big team performance with several players contributing.

No one more so than sophomore Tate Saso, who continued to play at an MVP level and pitched another gem against a deep and talented Loggers lineup that certainly is not lacking in top young talent itself.

Saso threw a complete game on just 87 pitches and allowed just seven hits and one walk while striking out four and improving to 5-0 on the season.

“Tate Saso is Tate Saso, he steps up big time,” Dobrec said. “He doesn’t feel any pressure any time he plays on the mound, and he put an exclamation point on a great season.”

The loss was obviously a disappointing one for the Loggers, who saw their nine-game winning streak end against a team that has become their biggest rivals in recent years.

“McKinleyville just tends to find a way to win games,” Eureka head coach Tommy Gale said. “They’re a great team and they’re well coached.”

After suffering an 11-0 loss to Eureka the last time the two schools faced off in late April, the McKinleyville players didn’t need any extra motivation for this one.

They came ready to play and opened up a four-run lead in the bottom of the first inning to quickly take control.

And with Saso and his defense playing the way they were, that would prove to be more than enough against a Eureka program that is the most successful in Lakin tournament history with four titles in the last 10 years.

The Panthers would add a fifth run in the fourth inning and held their Big 5 rivals scoreless until the always dangerous Ryder Mitchell scored Eureka’s only run of the game on a passed ball in the sixth.

“I think we played good tonight,” Dobrec said. “We had a couple of errors, but everyone contributed. It was a team win.

“We had some good at-bats. We went deep into a lot of counts.”

Bode Reininger had the hot bat for the three-time tournament champs, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Pat Wilson also had a double and three RBIs, while Saso and Hunter Carper each finished 1-for-3.

The Loggers out-hit the Panthers 7-6 and put a lot of contact on the ball, but it didn’t always go their way.

“I thought our offense was good enough to win,” Gale said. “Baseball is a funny game sometimes. I think we had at least five or seven times when we hit the ball and it went right to a defensive player, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Mitchell had a good game in the loss.

The impressive junior not only scored his team’s only run of the night, but he also finished 3-for-3 at the plate.

Brayden Bermers (1-for-3 with a double), Garrett Levitt (1-for-3), Jesse Vasquez (1-for-4) and Bryson Burns (1-for-4) each also had a base hit for the Loggers.

“Throughout the lineup, we struck the ball well, and that doesn’t show up in the stats,” Gale said.

Ty Crawford got the start on the mound and threw four innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and two walks and striking out eight.

Kyle Giacone threw two scoreless and hitless innings in relief, allowing just one walk and striking out four.

Despite the loss, the Loggers still have plenty to play for as they look to end a long NCS playoff win drought that dates back to 2015.

And a victory in the section postseason next week would help to erase the disappointment of finishing second to McKinleyville in the Lakin tournament.

“That was our message to the players,” said Gale, whose team is 20-7. “I’m very proud of the effort they’ve put in. It’s been an outstanding season and now we have our eyes set on the next one.”

Friday night, however, belonged to the Panthers, much as the past three Lakin tournaments have.

“I’m just proud of the kids,” Dobrec said. “They’ve worked hard all year for this.”