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Colton Hawkes gave his mother Julie a birthday present she won’t forget on Friday afternoon, as the McKinleyville Junior All-Stars won for the second straight day at the Section tournament at Shasta Lake. 

The young Hawkes hit what he later described as a “Birthday Grand Slam” for his mother to break open a tight game in the fifth inning and secure a 12-3 win over Palermo.

The win keeps McKinleyville’s hopes of yet another trip to a state tournament well on track.

The Mack All-Stars opened tournament play with a 12-2 win over Red Bluff on Thursday and will now have a day off before facing Quincy on Sunday in the winners bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

“We’re putting up runs,” McKinleyville manager Jaime Arredondo said. “Lucky 12. Hopefully we’ll keep scoring 12 runs. That’ll make it easier to win.”

As a team, the Mack players are averaging an impressive .419 at the plate over the first two tournament games.

“We’re scoring a ton of runs,” Arredondo added. “We’re hitting the ball really well and we’re not striking out. And we’re playing good teams, so we’re seeing good pitching.”

Several players have stepped up for the District 26 champs, including Nate Ryan who is quickly establishing himself as a legitimate threat every time he steps up to the plate.

Ryan is enjoying a standout tournament and is moving up the order, according to Arredondo.

“He’s had good games in both ball games,” the manager said. “He’s taking really good at-bats.”

The always dangerous Brayden Brock is also enjoying a good tournament.

Brock has been living up to his nickname “Bulldog” with some gutsy performances in the heat.

He “pitched a gem” in the tournament opener, according to his manager, and then caught a complete game against Red Bluff on Friday, showing no ill effects from the heat, as the Mack All-Stars got a measure of revenge against a team that beat them in the Section tournament two years ago.

Ty Wade also impressed on the mound in Thursday’s win, throwing 5.1 innings for the victory on 65 pitches.

The team defense has done a good job backing the pitchers.

McKinleyville led 4-0 early in Friday’s game, but Palermo would come storming back with a two-run home run to cut the deficit in half.

But Hawkes all but ended any hopes of a comeback for Palermo when he hit his grand slam in the fifth.

“That blew the game open,” Arredondo said. “We poured it on after that.”

The team outfielders also have played a key role in the two tournament wins, carrying over the momentum they built at the recent District tournament.

“We’re in good shape,” Arredondo said. “We’re making a run at it.”