By Ray Hamill — The two best baseball teams in the county served up a thriller for a packed house at the Arcata Ball Park on Wednesday night in a showdown that will no doubt go down as one of the best of the summer season.

The Humboldt Crabs hosted the Humboldt Eagles 19U in their annual early-season meeting, and the young American Legion players gave their more experienced opponents all they could handle in a game that went right down to the wire.

But it was the Crabs who had the final say, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure a 6-5 walk-off win and keep their unbeaten start to the season going.

Three days after hitting his team’s first home run of the summer, Damien Casas had another highlight moment when he drove in the winning run on his second base hit of the night in the bottom of the ninth. 

“We were really happy to get the win tonight,” new Crabs manager Jeff Giacomini said. “I thought our guys faced adversity head on and rose to the occasion.

“Our pitching was very good, and I was extremely proud of the way our team competed and got the job done.”

The young Eagles, who feature mostly high school players and were playing their first game of the season, acquitted themselves very well against a collegiate team that includes several Division-1 players.

“I’m extremely happy with the way the game went,” new Eagles manager Scott St. John said. “The whole coaching staff was just ecstatic, and I feel like it’s going to be a good summer.”

The night, as much as anything, was a celebration of local pitching.

Seven of the eight pitchers to see game time — four on each team — are current or former H-DNL players.

Hoopa’s Lyle McKinnon, who plays collegiately at Shasta College, got the start for the Eagles and did a good job keeping the Crabs bats in check early on.

McKinleyville High junior Joe Tanno also impressed in relief, as did Eureka junior Ryder Mitchell and Mack sophomore Tate Saso.

For the Crabs, former Arcata High and College of the Redwoods pitcher Miles Oliver got the start and threw three solid innings, with former McKinleyville Panther Jackson Kelly (Shoreline Community College) and former Eureka Logger Cooper Ohlsen (Butte College) both featuring in relief.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Adam Enyart threw the final 1.1 innings for the hosts and got the win, allowing no hits and no walks and striking out four.

Several players impressed at the plate for both teams.

Casas was 2-for-3 with a triple, the game-winning RBI and two walks and also scored three runs, while Crabs lead-off batter Colton Boardman finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

But the Crabs were out-hit by the younger Eagles, 12-8, an especially impressive stat considering the Legion players don’t usually play with wood bats like the Crabs do.

Led by Mitchell and Tanno, who each had three hits, the Eagles displayed a composure beyond their years at the plate.

“I was really impressed with the way we hit the ball, especially when we don’t use wood bats” St. John said. “The guys came out swinging from the first inning, and I was impressed by our composure the whole night. They weren’t intimidated.”

In what was a back-and-forth game, the Eagles struck first and opened up an early two-run lead with a run in each in each of the first two inning, before the Crabs battled back to tie things up in the bottom of the second.

The hosts would add to their tally with another run in the fourth to take the lead.

But the Eagles would respond and retook the lead with two runs in the top of the fifth, before the Crabs pulled level again with a fourth run in the sixth.

That set up an intriguing finish to the game, and the Eagles appeared to grow in confidence the longer they remained in contention.

They would take their third lead of the night in the top of the seventh, when Rhythm Green hit a double to score Pat Wilson, and they held a slender 5-4 advantage going into the bottom of the ninth.

But with their backs to the wall and facing their first loss of the summer, the Crabs players responded with two big runs to end the game.

Jaden Shabry drove in teammate Jason Arriola on a sac fly to tie the game, before Casas stepped up to drive in Jamie Mullin for the winning score.

With the victory, the Crabs improved to 4-0, while the Eagles dropped to 0-1.

Mitchell, who is coming off an outstanding spring with the Eureka Loggers, finished the night 3-for-5 with two runs, while the equally impressive Tanno was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Wilson also hit the ball well for the Eagles and finished 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a walk and two runs

Saso also had a double and an RBI, while Garret Levitt, Jake Brunner and Alex Jimenez each also had a base hit in the loss.

Shabry, Mullin, Enyart and Kawana Soares each also had a base hit for the Crabs.

Former Fortuna Husky Daniel Osborne, who was a teammate of McKinnon’s at Shasta College this spring, finished 0-for-2 for the Crabs with two RBIs and also had his team’s only stolen base of the night.

The young Eagles earned the respect of Giacomini, who has a close relationship with St. John, having worked with him with the Humboldt B52s.

“I was also very impressed with the Eagles and coach Scott St. John,” Giacomini said. “They have a heck of a ball club, and I think they’re going to have a very successful summer and represent Humboldt baseball extremely well.

“They put on a great showing tonight and competed from start to finish.

“Overall, it was a great game and a great night for Humboldt baseball.”

Next up, the Crabs will host the South Bay Storm in a three-game series this weekend with game one set for Friday night at 7, while the Eagles will have a two-week break in action before playing the Southern Humboldt 76ers at Belotti Field in Eureka on June 16.