Beacon Correspondent
Manager Chris Gaiser may not have had the bug going around that had effected several of his players this last weekend, however he was surely sick to his stomach come game time Saturday afternoon. This due to the fact that instead of presenting his starting lineup for his semi-final game against the Mckinleyville Knights, Gaiser had to forfeit on behalf of the 76ers, therefore ending Southern Humboldt's run for the title. With several players feeling the effects of a flu-like virus, the 76ers just did not have the numbers to take the field.
Prior to the 76ers bowing out on Saturday thay had posted a 1-1 record in the district tournament. Southern Humboldt put up some big numbers in their opening round win over the Northern Humboldt Knights. Pounding out 14 hits and only commiting1 error, the 76ers won going away, 14-2. David Hughes led the hit parade going 4 for 4, Ruben Rios, Justin Byrum, James Bogdanowicz and Colton Hackett all had multiple hits. Bogdanowicz threw the complete game for the win on the mound. He limited the Knights to 5 hits over the 5 innings of work.
Things did not go the 76ers way on Friday when they faced the Eureka Dukes. A competetive game throughout,
That's as far as it would get for Southern Humboldt and Saturday afternoon the Knights and the Dukes fought it out for the championship. The Dukes won the district title without to much trouble 8-2. The 76er's ended their season with a 14-11 record.
ERV All Stars come up short in title game
The Eel River 11 year old All Stars gave it their all throughout the Northern California Little League Tournament, held last week in Chico. The boys won their first two games of the tournament convincingly but fell in the third round to a very good West Redding team 10-1. ERV bounced back the next day winning over Olivehurst-Linda in a slugfest, 14-7.
The championship game would be a rematch as ERV had to once again take on West Redding for the title. Eel River played much more to their potential than the first meeting and gave a good accounting of themselves before coming up short 8-4. Noah Sears, Nolan Stoksbery, Chandler Wilson, Coleton Betts, Riley Jones and Conner Hider all contributed solid efforts for the team in the last two games of the event. The All Stars were coached by Keith DeMello and finished the postseason with a 6-2 record.
Ferndale's chase Brodt participates
in international baseball competition
An emerging baseball talent, Ferndale native Chase Brodt recently was, "in the right place at the right time" and realized a young mans baseball dream come true. Brodt was a pleasant surprise on the Ferndale Wildcats baseball team this past spring. He proved to be an excellent pitcher, batter and fielder at the high school level.
At seasons end he jumped from the high school field and more recently had became a intregal part of the Southern Humboldt 76ers American Legion team. Brodt once again excelled in all three areas of the game for the 76ers and was a big part of their sucess this summer.
Brodt had wanted to take his game to the next level and expressed a desire to go to a big time baseball skills camp. So earlier in July he packed his bags and headed to San Diego to attend an ABC baseball camp for high school age players.
Brodt thrived at the camp and responded well to some quality instruction. So well that he was awarded "Best Hitter" at the camp and came home with a positive experience. "It was pretty fun and I got to meet kids from all around the country and even the world" Brodt recalled.
With many baseball coaches and scouts in attendance Brodt especially caught the eye of Tim Haubursin from Notre Dame Preperatory, who headed up the camp and had connections in the baseball circles of southern California and Arizona.
Two days after returning home Brodt received an email from Haubursin inviting him to participate in an exclusive USA Select traveling team with intentions to travel to the Dominican Republic to take part in a series of games over several days.
With a flurry of activity Brodt's parents, Brian and Merritt made it happen and Chase was on a plane to join the team for the trip across the Gulf of Mexico. With a group of coaches with extensive experience in professional, collegiate and high school baseball Brodt, two others from the ABC camp and players from all over the country left to take part in the Dominican Classic Tournament.
Taking on Academy teams such as San Domingo and Boca Chica the USA team as well as Brodt got off to a slow start due to the travel and the competition. "I did alright, I did not catch on right away as they were pitching some serious heat down there, I only saw 2-3 curveballs all week and the pitchers were throwing in the 80-90 mph range." Brodt confessed. "The skill level was very high and I only saw them commit a couple of errors the whole tournament,” Brodt spoke of the Dominican players.
Brodt played alot of 1st base, his usual position and a little right field also. He started hitting the ball a couple of games in and the team posted a very good result winning four of six games over the week period. Besides a week of incredible baseball Brodt gained an international experience. His coach, Troy Gerlach has coached at the high school and college level and coaches the Los Angeles Angels scout team in Arizona in the off-season.
The USA Select program not only boasts recruiting some of the best baseball talent from around the country but also provides connections to assist talented players further their baseball careers beyond high school.
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