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The Humboldt Eagles 19Us kept their hopes of qualifying for this year’s American Legion state tournament alive with a much-needed win at the Area Tournament in Fairfield on Thursday.

Barely.

After opening tournament play with a 6-2 loss to Napa Valley on Wednesday, the Eagles bounced back with a walk-off 6-5 win over the Sonoma County Vipers in eight innings on Thursday.

The Eagles will play another elimination game against Petaluma on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

Trailing by two going into the bottom of the eighth inning against Sonoma, the Eagles rallied to score three late runs for the win, with Parker Prior driving in Jake Brunner for the game-clinching run.

Brayden Bermers, who was called up from the Eagles 17Us for the tournament, delivered big time in one of his biggest games of the summer and got the win on the mound.

The soon-to-be high school junior took the mound in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded and the Eagles trailing by two.

But he turned in a composed performance, getting out of the jam with just nine pitches, including two strikeouts.

Eagles manager Scott St. John described Bermers as “the star of the day.”

“For him to come down on this trip and his first time out with the guys, he performed very well for us,” St. John said.

Ryder Mitchell and Michael Manzi each had a pair of sac flys and two RBIs in the win, with Mitchell also scoring twice.

Bermers’ Eureka High teammate Kyle Giacone was also called up from the Eagles 17Us for the tournament and had an immediate impact, finishing with an RBI hit.

Tate Saso got the start on the mound and threw seven innings for a no-decision.

Saso gave up three earned runs on eight hits and two walks and struck out three.

The tournament, however, didn’t begin well for the Eagles.

“We just kind of came out flat,” St. John said of Wednesday’s game against Napa Valley. “We just didn’t really hit the ball. I don’t think they were that much better than us, we were just flat.”

Saso led the way at the plate in the loss, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI, while teammate Alex Jimenez was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Mitchell got the start on the mound and threw four innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out five.

Prior pitched the final two innings, giving up one hit and walking two.