The nugget., June 03, 2015, Page 5, Image 5

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Harrer named Sky-Em’s Most Valuable Player
By Rongi yost
Correspondent
The Outlaws baseball team
had all nine of their starters
receive all-league recognition,
with senior Justin Harrer lead-
ing the pack as a first-team
all-leaguer (infield) and the
Sky-Em’s MVP.
Harrer batted .519 for the
Outlaws during league play
and recorded 37 RBI. Justin
also recorded seven home
runs and had 12 stolen bases.
“Justin has the combi-
nation of both speed and
power,” said Coach Steve
Hodges. “He’s the complete
package for a baseball player.
He’s got all the tools to play at
the next level.”
Senior Jonathan Luz,
junior Alex Olivier, sopho-
more Ryan Funk, and fresh-
man Zach Morgan also
earned first-team all-league
recognition.
Luz (infielder) batted .304
and had six stolen bases.
Hodges told The Nugget that
Jonathan has good speed and
is a great fielder. Jonathan
played at second, third, and at
shortstop and was very good
in all three positions. Luz
saved a couple of games for
the Outlaws with his glove.
Olivier earned first-team
all-league outfield, and batted
.459 for Sisters. Alex batted
in 17 runs and had 13 stolen
bases.
“Alex has great speed,
good range in the outfield,
and provided a lot of offensive
pop at the plate for us, and
had a high on-base percent of
.522,” said Hodges.
Funk (catcher) batted .356
and had 18 RBI in league.
Ryan missed several games
due to injury and sickness and
was still a first-team pick.
“Ryan is such a hard-work-
ing kid,” said Hodges. “He
does a great job behind the
plate blocking pitches. He’s
a total team guy. He can hit
the ball to both fields, does a
great job hitting behind Justin
(Harrer), and puts the ball in
play. He only had four strike-
outs during league.”
Zach Morgan rounded out
the first-team selections. Zach
was 7-0 on the mound for the
Outlaws, and had a 1.1 ERA.
Morgan batted .298 and had
13 RBI.
“Without Zach on the
mound we wouldn’t have
repeated as league champi-
ons,” commented Hodges.
“He’s improved over the last
six months and has been abso-
lutely amazing. He’s such a
competitor for such a young
man, and his team-mates
really admire him for that.”
Second-team all-league
picks were seniors Ben
Larson and Cody Kreminski,
and freshman Odin Thorson.
Larson (outfield) is affec-
tionately called Mr. Steady
by Coach Hodges. Ben batted
.326 during league play and
brought in 11 runs.
“Ben is so reliable and
steady, and as an upper-class-
man in the outfield, he plays
in the most difficult position,
which is right field because
of the wind,” said Hodges.
“He’s a good team guy and
I’m going to miss him.”
Kreminski (first base) had
a solid year at the plate with
a batting average of .422, and
also recorded 11 RBI.
“When Cody hits it, he hits
it hard,” said Hodges. “When
he gets in a groove his hits
come in bunches. He’s going
to be a good component for us
in the playoffs.”
Thorson rounded out the
second-team picks. Odin bat-
ted .326 and had nine RBI.
“Odin has good speed and
bunts well,” said Hodges.
“He’s an excellent outfielder
and has a strong arm for his
age. He’s very much a team
guy and will do anything
for the team’s success. He’s
been a great addition to the
program.”
Sophomore Alec Gannon
was honorable mention
infield. Gannon batted .333
and had nine RBI.
“Alec got better at sec-
ond base as the season
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Justin Harrer is Sky-em league’s MVp.
progressed,” said Hodges.
“He’s really starting to come
into his own as a varsity
player.”
Hodges was also selected
as Coach of the Year, an honor
he has received four out of the
last five years.
“It’s nice that you’re rec-
ognized for all the time you
put into the program, but
without your players’ perfor-
mance, you wouldn’t get that
recognition,” said Hodges.
“It’s really a credit to the play-
ers and the program.”