Charlie Lakin | Eureka takes softball crown while Mack three-peats in baseball

The Charlie Lakin Tournament concluded Friday with McKinleyville claiming the baseball trophy and Eureka taking it home for softball.

Baseball

McKinleyville's baseball team did a lot of the heavy lifting in the first inning Friday night at the Arcata Ballpark in the Charlie Lakin Tournament final, scoring four runs, before hanging on late in a 5-1 win over Eureka. Despite both squads placing runners on base throughout, tallies were hard to come by, but the Panthers did enough to earn their third straight Lakin title.

"It's a great accomplishment for the kids, and they've worked hard all year to achieve it," said Mack head coach Mike Dobrec. "To win three (Lakin tourneys) in a row, they're tough, good games against a good team like Eureka, it means a lot to our program, which is the smallest school in the Big Five. I'm super proud of them."

Mack's Tate Saso started on the hill and went the distance, giving up six hits and the one unearned run while walking one and striking out four. Bode Reininger had three hits, a run, and an RBI for Mack, while Saso helped himself out with a hit and and two runs. Patrick Wilson knocked in three, collecting one hit and a run scored. For Eureka, Ryder Mitchell had three hits and a run.

Eureka fans vehemently disagreed with a couple of calls that did not go Eureka's way offensively on the basepaths and with the strike zone. One rally in the bottom of the third for the Loggers was short-circuited by a decision that left one runner on with an out instead of runners at first and second with nobody away. A Brayden Bermers double kept the Loggers as a threat, but a strong Panther arm in center negated a potential sacrifice fly and a groundout ended the threat. They would not score until the sixth.

Mack made use of back-to-back-to-back singles from Saso, Hunter Carper, and Reininger to plate their fifth run in the bottom of the fourth and establish a 5-0 lead, finally wresting the hitting battle from Eureka and leading six to five in that department. Continuing to voice their displeasure with umpiring decisions, the Logger faithful saw one assistant coach ejected for arguing a safe call at third base with Mack still at the dish. A bases-loaded flyout ended the threat.

Runner interference kept Eureka from getting runners into scoring position in the fifth, but Eureka finally got runners to second and third in the top of the sixth, Ryder Mitchell coming in on a wild pitch. The Loggers continued to make good contact against Saso, with a couple liners off the bats of Kyle Giacone and Garrett Levitt caught in the final frame, before Saso finally sat down the final Logger player on a swinging strikeout.

Wilson got the big blow in the first inning for Mack's first three runs, clearing the bases with a double before being plated himself.

After the big win, "We congratulated them on a job well done," said Dobrec. "And we basically told them we're not done. We want to keep winning and advance in the playoffs. It's been our goal all year to win league, then the Lakin, and go as far as we possibly can in the playoffs."

"As a team, we were pretty locked in this whole tournament," added the coach. "Even going back to playing Arcata and Del Norte (in the regular season), those were games we had to win, and we won. It was a great team effort from everyone. Bode Reininger had a huge night (3-for-4), and Tate does what Tate does. He's had a great season, and last night was icing on the cake for him."

McKinleyville and Eureka will find out their playoff seedings on Sunday.

Softball

After a tough run of a couple of seasons at the bottom of the Big Five softball rankings, Eureka's softball team has not only been competitive this year, but at the end of the season, they have shone. Behind Mackenzie Wolff in the circle, Eureka scored early and often in establishing a lead in the Charlie Lakin Tournament final Friday night at the Arcata Sports Complex before ultimately beating Fortuna 14-7. The Loggers got four, three, and two runs in the first three innings, respectively, before plating two in the fifth and three in the seventh and final inning after the Huskies rallied for a couple late tallies.

The Loggers staked themselves to an 11-5 lead at one point in the fifth inning, after Jaycee Childress and Macy Secor had run-scoring base hits, but Husky star Evalynn Little countered with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, and in the sixth, Kaylee Castillo, then on the mound for Fortuna, worked a full-count at-bat past 10 pitches as she fouled off offering after offering from Wolff. She earned a base-hit liner to left before the Huskies got another single past the second baseman. Wolff got Olivia Hayes looking, but Hailee Thompson would knock in a run after seeing two in scoring position. Fortuna's second runner got caught in a pickle, though, and the inning was over with the score 11-7.

Senior Tiffany Harris hit a two-run homer to left that trickled over the wall to put the game further out of reach in the seventh and account for the 14-7 final.

Eureka saw Macy Secor with three hits, four runs scored, and two runs batted in. Harris had the two hits, her homer and a double, knocking in three. Violla Kingsang scored three runs. Bailey Brown had two hits, two runs, and two RBIs, while Megan Secor had a hit and two runs.

Fortuna's strong hurler Isabel Sanchez was chased after just over an inning in her second game back from an arm strain having given up seven earned runs. The Huskies got three hits, two runs, and an RBI from Little, who hit a double. Hailee Thompson had two hits, two RBIs, and a run scored, while Sophia Castillo had one hit, two RBIs, and a run scored.

Eureka, which only got into the tournament based on initial No. 3 seed Del Norte withdrawing, took advantage of its opportunity. The Loggers had gone winless last season before earning just two victories the season before.

"Really, we just came out, and all the players stepped up with a winning attitude," said Logger head coach Bob Secor. "We put them where they needed to be, and it was really all them. They put in the hard work, and it all really paid off for them this week."

Wolff pitched all three complete games in the tournament, a standout according to Coach Secor, with a solid defense behind her. "Offensively, through the whole tournament, Bailey Brown and Macy Secor and Megan Secor (stood out)," said Coach Secor. He said Harris' home run was her first, a nice capper on the tournament.

Eureka, now 12-12 after finishing 6-6 in the Big Five, will be seeded in the North Coast Section playoff tournament, and will find out their seeding and division on Sunday. "After this week, though, with the attitude and momentum we have, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing where we're at," said Coach Secor. "Ideally, it would be nice if we had a home game, but either way, I think the girls will come and play. I think we're playing the best ball we've done all year, with the momentum in our favor."

Omar Khattab, Assistant Principal and Athletic Director for Eureka, said he was "proud of the time and dedication put into turning around the program, with good fundamental growth. As we grow the program, I will be excited to see what comes next." He was especially optimistic that the Loggers will be bringing back Wolff for her senior season, while noting the contributions from the Secor sisters and Brown in their final campaigns this year.

Khattab said there was a good group of young players as well and the JV program had also been showing growth under Blake Dunbar's coaching.

Ken McCanless can be reached at 707-441-0526.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 11:55 AM.