An exciting week in local baseball continued on Thursday evening, as the Northern Humboldt Giants secured a second straight one-run win in 17U American Legion action.

Two days after edging the Humboldt Eagles 3-2 in their season opener, the Giants improved to 2-0 with a 7-6 walk-off win over the Southern Humboldt 76ers at Arcata High.

Hatcher Matson drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to cap an impressive late comeback for the Giants, who trailed 6-3 going in the final inning.

The walk-off win was the second of the week in Arcata, following the Humboldt Crabs’ thrilling victory over the Humboldt Eagles 19Us at the Arcata Ball Park on Wednesday night.

The Giants plated two runs in the seventh before Matson came to bat, but they still trailed when he delivered with a two-run hit to seal the dramatic victory.

Several other players also impressed for head coach Brandon Coborn’s team.

Fresh off a big spring with the McKinleyville Panthers, Bode Reininger has hit the ground running in Legion ball and got the win on the mound against the 76ers.

Reininger threw the final 1.2 innings in relief and shut down the Southern Humboldt bats to give his team a chance at the late comeback.

According to Coborn, Reininger also played “outstanding” at shortstop before taking the mound.

Arcata High’s Gavin Anderson got the start on the hill and threw two good innings, but as a team the Giants struggled to impact the game early on.

“We did not come ready to play and didn’t take care of the baseball for the first two innings,” Coborn said. 

The Northern Humboldt players would grow into the game, however, with Arcata freshman Rylan Kees playing a key role in helping to get his team going.

Kees finished with a pair of hits, but the versatile youngster’s impact was felt in other ways as well.

He started at catcher, before pitching 2.1 innings in relief and then taking over at shortstop when Reininger took the mound.

“(Kees) was dominant in his outing and showed his versatility for our program,” the head coach said. 

McKinleyville’s Carson Hicks and Hoopa’s Sonny White each also had a base hit in the win.

No stats were immediately available for the 76ers. Coaches are encouraged to forward details to Humboldt Sports if they would like their players included in our roundups. 

Next up, the Giants had to cancel a weekend trip to Sutter but will host the Eagles on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Submitted photo