File photo/Submitted photo

The McKinleyville Junior All-Stars will try to keep their season going when they take on Half Moon Bay in an elimination game at the NorCal State Tournament on Monday afternoon.

The District and Section champs won their tournament opener on Saturday, beating Mill Valley 17-7, but suffered their first of the summer on Sunday, falling 3-2 to host Turlock.

The local All-Stars had their opportunities and led by a pair of runs for much of the game.

“It was a great game. We won five of the seven innings,” McKinleyville manager Jaime Arredondo said. “We had one bad inning and couldn’t recover.

“We had multiple opportunities, but we never got the big hit we needed to get.”

Arredondo is hoping his players will use the loss as motivation to keep their season going on Monday, as they look to earn a rematch with Turlock later in tournament play.

“Now we get to play more baseball and try to work our way back,” the McKinleyville manager said. “We’re down, but we’re not out. It’s going to be a challenge no doubt, but we’re hoping we get another crack at Turlock.”

Some controversial calls by the umpires in favor of the home team frustrated the McKinleyville fans on Sunday.

But that wasn’t the only reason for the loss.

“It was probably our best game since Districts,” Arredondo said, “The kids played well, we were composed, we just left too many runners on, and you have to score to win games, but we also saw the best pitcher we’ve faced since Districts.”

Saturday’s game, however, was a fun one for the speedy Mack All-Stars, who stole a remarkable 16 bases in the win.

Always-reliable pitcher Breyden Brock “threw a gem,” according to the coach.

“We came out swinging, and our base running, which is probably the weakest part of our team, showed up that day,” Arredondo said. “We’re getting better and better, and any time you steal 16 bases you can tell the kids are having fun.”

Colton Hawkes will get the start for McKinleyville in Monday’s game.