Rhythm Green delivered on the mound and at the plate on Thursday, as the Humboldt Eagles 19Us won a thrilling showdown to open the Fairfield Firecracker tournament.

The local American Legion club trailed by three going into the seventh inning, but rallied with four unanswered runs to pull out a 4-3 victory over the Clovis Nighthawks and move two games above .500 on the season.

And no one played a bigger role in the victory than McKinleyville’s Green.

Green got the start on the mound and kept his team in the game while the Eagles struggled to get something going on offense.

The Mack standout also delivered at the plate, blasting a bases-clearing double to drive in the tying and winning runs in the decisive final inning.

“Really happy with the win,” Eagles manager Scott St. John said. “We Jumped out of the car and had to play right off the bat, and their pitcher was pretty good. 

“We hung around. We didn’t really hit the ball, but Rhythm kept us in the game and we hung in and got four runs when we needed them.

“It was a good start to the tournament, definitely a good start.”

Green pitched six innings for the win, giving up two earned runs on just two hits and three walks and striking out three.

He also finished 1-for-4 with the game-wining double, which was one of just five team hits.

Alex Jimenez had a good day at the plate and showed no ill effects from the drive down, finishing 2-for-3 and scoring one of his team’s runs.

Garrett Levitt and Parker Prior each also was 1-for-3, with Prior adding an RBI to get the late rally started, as well as a run.

After his team took the late lead, Michael Manzi took over on the mound and was clutch, striking out three batters for the save.

The Eagles, who improved to 8-6, will continue tournament play with a pair of games on Friday.

They play the Sacramento Samurai at 3 p.m., followed by a game against the host Fairfield Expos at 5:30.