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They say hitting is contagious in baseball, and that’s been the case for the Redwood Empire 12-year-old All-Stars over the past three days.

After opening their Section tournament in Colusa with a disappointing 4-0 loss to Chico Central, the young Redwood players have been unstoppable since then, scoring 35 runs over three elimination games.

And when you combine that with some stellar pitching and defense, it makes a team dangerous and gives the players plenty of momentum.

That continued to be the case for the District 26 champs on Monday night, as they extended their season and reached the championship round with a 9-0 win over Cottonwood.

Redwood Empire will now get a rematch against Chico Central on Tuesday night and if they can beat them twice over the next two days they will advance to this year’s NorCal State tournament.

“In game one, everybody was just really nervous. Our dugout was quiet and you could see it, the kids were just a little gun shy,” RELL manager Tyler Conley said. “Since then, we got our bats going and it’s continued every game. The whole energy has changed.”

It wasn’t just the bats that paved the way to victory on Monday.

Pitcher Oliver Yoder enjoyed a big night on the mound, keeping the Cottonwood players in check and giving up just one hit, to the final batter he faced.

“He pitched almost a complete game, and when you get somebody throwing like that …,” Conley said. “Oliver kept going out there and he never allowed those guys get into any sort of a rhythm.”

The game, however, was close for much of the night with just two runs separating the two teams going into the fifth.

But the Redwood Empire bats continued to plug away and a Liam Kilgore home run put some further distance between the two teams, as RELL began to pull away late.

Kilgore is an important part of the team’s offense after hitting home runs in all four games at the District tournament last month, and getting him going again is a big boost for the team.

The red-hot Treyce Conley also hit a home run in Monday’s win, the third straight game he has done so. He now has 22 home runs on the year.

Wesley Ask is another player who has impressed at the Section tournament.

The team’s leadoff batter had multiple hits for the third straight game, as he continues to set the tone for his teammates and do an outstanding job at the top of the lineup.

“He’s been finding ways to get on base and score for us,” Tyler Conley said. 

Logan Mayberry also had a highlight moment in the win, hitting a two-RBI triple that helped spark the late rally.

That hit, according to the manager, coupled with Yoder’s consistent pitching all night, “really got everybody going.”

The three straight elimination game wins set up a rematch with Chico Central, the last remaining unbeaten team at the tournament.

And Tyler Conley and his players feel they have what it takes to gain a measure of revenge and take home a championship banner for Humboldt County.

“We’ve got to win two games against Chico, but we’re feeling pretty good about our chances,” the manager said. “We’ve got the pitching. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

Tuesday night’s game is set for 7 p.m. and if the Redwood Empire players win that they will play Chico Central a third time in a true championship showdown on Wednesday night.