Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] The local Little League All Star season is heating up with two more district champions crowned last week and a number of local teams gearing up for the Section tournaments, including one that will be hosted here on the North Coast. Hello and welcome to this week's KMUD News Sports Report. I'm Ray hamel with humboldt sports.com we'll have lots more on all of the local All Star teams in just a moment as we take a look at all of the big local spots, sports stories of the week, including the latest on the Humble Crabs and some American Legion baseball news. But first up, the local Little League All Star season is building momentum as some of the best young players in Humboldt county paint a bright picture for the future of baseball in the area. Last week a pair of district champions were crowned after dominating runs through their respective tournaments. The District 26810 year olds tournament took place in Fortuna and was hosted by Eel River Little League and the host team took home the championship banner with a big week, winning all three of their games including a 3 to 1 win over rival McKinleyville in the championship round. The team pitching and defense helped set the tone. Eel river opened with a 161 win over Klamat Trinity and followed that with a thrilling 87 walk off win over Redwood Empire to advance to the championship round. Eel Rivers Carter Bess was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to drive in the decisive run in the final inning and things get even better for the district 10 year old champions. Eel river not only advances to the Section tournament, but the local association will get to host it as well with the five team tournament opening on Friday of next week at Fireman's park in Ferndale. The host team will enjoy an opening round by AT and will begin play on Saturday at 2pm in 11 year old all star action. The District 26 tournament also took place last week and was hosted by Southern Humboldt with Redwood Empire taking home the championship banner. The Rell players defeated a spirited Clamat Trinity team 239 in the final game, capping a dominating 30 run through the tournament, but they had to battle all the way in the decider despite the final lopsided score with the game competitive until late. According to Clamat Trinity coaches, it was the first time their association reached a district championship game since 1989.
[00:02:31] Ultimately, however, it was the Redwood Empire players who prevailed to keep their summer season going. In addition to the championship game victory, Red Redwood Empire also defeated Eel River 52 in their tournament opener and then got the better of Clamat Trinity 111 in their second game to advance to the championship round. The Redwood Empire All Stars will now head to Chico for their section tournament which gets underway late next week. All of the section winners will advance to the NorCal state tournaments which is as far as the 10 year old and 11 year old all Stars can go. And the good News for District 26 teams is that they usually fare very well at the section tournaments in 12 year old all Star action. Meanwhile, Mckinleyville was crowned district champion after going undefeated in tournament play this week. Playing at Hiller park in Mckinleyville, the host team defeated Redwood Empire 32 on a walk off in the championship round on Wednesday night. The Mack All Stars scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overturn a two run deficit. They will now advance to the section tournament but unlike the younger All Stars, they can keep playing all the way to the nationally televised Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania providing they keep winning in Junior league action. Meanwhile, the Mckinleyville All Stars won the district championship last month and the 13 year olds will open play at the section tournament this weekend in Yuba City. This group of talented McKinleyville players have dominated here on the north coast in recent years and they will like their chances of playing for a NORCAL state title after placing as high as second there three years ago. California and Texas are the only two states that award two state championships with Northern California and Southern California champions crowned annually Elsewhere in local sports this week it was another busy week for the Humboldt Crabs. Over the weekend the local collegiate summer baseball club won two of three Pacific Empire League games against the Lincoln Potters including a thrilling walk off victory on Saturday night. Playing the Potters for the second straight weekend. The the Crabs took the series opener by a score of 1410 in a high scoring showdown. They followed that with a 32 win in 10 innings on Saturday night before dropping the series finale 141 on Sunday.
[00:04:56] Having also taken two of three games against the Potters in Lincoln the previous weekend, the Crabs have won four of their six matchups against the league powerhouse to leave themselves well on track to qualify for this year's Pacific Empire League Championship Series.
[00:05:12] The Crabs, who also defeated the Marysville Giants 53 in non league action on Tuesday night, will return to league play this weekend when they host the Solano Mudcats at the Arcata Ballpark. The three game series gets underway on Friday afternoon with a special Fourth of July showdown at 2:30pm which is always one of the most popular games of the summer. The two clubs will also play on Saturday night at 6:30 before closing out the series on Sunday afternoon at 12:30. The Crabs will then hit the road for the final time next week when they travel to Medford to play three league games against the Rogues on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And rounding out a busy week for local baseball, the Humboldt Eagles are on a roll after stretching their winning streak in American Legion ball to five straight games on Sunday, the Eagles entertained Sonoma County Legion at Bellotti Field in Eureka and won both games of a doubleheader by scores of 9142 in five innings. Branson Dobrik and Cooper Olson both had big performances on the way to posting the wins on the mound, while Alex Jimenez led the way at the plate in Game 2, finishing 4 for 4 with a triple, a double and five RBIs. The Eagles will continue a busy few weeks when they play at the five day Firecracker Classic Tournament in Fairfield this weekend. The Eagles will also host their annual 19U and 17U tournaments next week in Eureka with the action getting underway on Thursday.
[00:06:43] And that's this week's KMUD News Sports Report. Until next time, I'm Ray Hamill with Humboldt Sports. Com.
