American Legion

NH Giants top the Eagles, go to 3-0 with another one-run win

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The Northern Humboldt Giants are finding ways to win close games this summer.

On Tuesday night, the local American Legion club won a third straight one-run game to go to 3-0 on the young season, rallying late to beat the Humboldt Eagles 3-2 in 17U action.

And the Hicks brothers played a big part on the way to victory, combining for three base hits.

Carson Hicks led the way at the plate for the Giants and finished 2-for-3 with a run in the lead-off spot, while younger brother Bowdy was 1-for-2.

Thanks to a big performance by Eagles pitcher Kyle Giacone, the Giants trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.

But they would score a pair of runs to pull ahead and held on down the stretch to secure the win.

Giacone threw 4.1 strong innings, giving up just one run on one hit and two walks and striking out 10.

“He had a good game,” Eagles head coach TJ Brogan said. “His location was on, everything was on.”

Giacone also earned the praise of Giants coach Brandon Coborn.

“Kyle had his best stuff, and it was one of the better outings I’ve seen him have,” Coborn said. “He is growing into his frame and I’m excited to see his development.”

Errors, however, would prove costly for the Eagles late in the game.

“That’s part of the game,” Brogan said. “We’re still ironing out defensive errors, and we’ve got to get the bats going.”

Bryson Burns led a five-hit team performance by the Eagles, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk, while Tyson Marshall had a big RBI triple to give his team a 2-1 lead that they held for much of the game.

Marshall also had a walk, while Giacone was 1-for-3 and Bryce Pope was 1-for-2.

Pope also impressed on the mound in relief, taking over with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and getting out of the jam to keep the lead.

Del Norte’s Ben Shrewsberry got the start on the hill for the Giants and pitched well despite not seeing much action for the past few weeks.

“He was working out some rust from the time off,” said Coborn, who described it as an “overall strong outing.”

Shrewsberry threw four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and four walks and striking out four.

Arcata’s Rylan Kees threw three strong innings in relief for the win — his second of the summer — giving up two hits and a walk and striking out three.

“Rylan was efficient, effective and in command of the zone,” Coborn said.

At the plate, Jerry Griffin finished 1-for-2 for the Giants with a hit-by-pitch and scored a run, while Kees was 1-for-3 and Emilio Medina was 1-for-3 with a run.

Gavin Anderson also made his presence felt while going 0-for-2.

He drew a walk with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run.

The Eagles are now 1-2.

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