Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Tuesday afternoon’s District championship game.

By Ray Hamill — Scoring runs was not a problem for the Eel River All-Stars at the District 26 10-year-olds tournament over the weekend.

The Eel River players racked up an incredible 55 runs in their three games on the way to clinching the championship at Hiller Park on Tuesday night, including an 11-4 win over McKinleyville in the final.

And remarkably, the offense might not even be the strength of this year’s team.

“Our pitching is our strong point,” Eel River manager Erik Bess said. “We’ve got seven kids that can pitch and we only used five of them (at the tournament).”

The middle of the lineup also enjoyed a big weekend for the District champs, who also defeated McKinleyville 11-0 on Sunday to reach the championship game.

Knox Danielson, Truen Cobb, Miusel Junior Mandujano Soto and Kesler Lake all made some big contributions at the plate.

“Those four in the middle of the lineup, they can all hit with power,” Bess said. “And we’re a good contact hitting team. We put the ball in play.”

Lake also played a key role on the mound, leading the way for a deep staff.

The team ace is quickly establishing himself as one of the best young pitchers in the county.

“As a group, our pitching is real good,” Bess added. “Kesler Lake is probably our go-to guy on the mound. He’s very intimidating up there.”

The talented Eel River players are quickly making a name for themselves as the team to beat in District 26.

Last year, with several nine-year-olds on the roster, Eel River won the District title, and with many of the same players on hand this summer they secured a repeat championship.

And every player on the team made their presence felt at one stage or another over the weekend.

“All 12 players on the roster can contribute in one way or the other,” Bess said. “All 12 are very coachable. They’re likable kids that are hungry to play baseball, and that makes it fun.”

The Eel River roster also includes Carter Bess, Daniel Bazan, Drake Bohn, Gio Lanza, Jayce Fockaert, Kobe Stockley, Teigen Weitzel and William Lammanuzzi.

The Eel River players will now turn their attention to next month’s Section tournament, which will be held in mid July.

Abe Fockaert, Trevor Bohn and Kyle Lammanuzzi are assistant coaches with the team.

Submitted photo