JANUARY 22, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11
BOYS,
AGUILAR,
continued from Page A10 continued from Page A10
KYBA hits Celtic hardwood
KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald
Keizer Youth Basketball Association players took to the court for a brief scrimmage during the
halftime of McNary High School girls varsity basketball game Friday, Jan. 15.
puzzle answers
in attendance writhed with
each narrow miss.
McNary senior Wyatt
Grine fi nally put the team
into triple digits with a shot
from the foul line with 1:10
to go.
“Honestly, my heart was
beating super-hard and I was
praying, ‘God, please let me
make at least one of them.’
That’s what happened and it
was a blessing,” Grine said.
McNary had a bye Tuesday,
Jan. 19. The team will host
McMinnville High School
Friday, Jan. 22.
MCNAUGHT,
continued from Page A10
their home for a meal and
that was the last straw. I knew
I had to go there,” said Mc-
Naught.
McNaught signed a let-
ter of intent to play for the
Pirates at a ceremony Friday,
Jan. 15, at McNary.
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good baseball player. You need
kids that are looking beyond
high school because they an-
chor a team in many ways.”
Aguilar started looking at
his options for college about
four months ago and con-
tacted LCC. That turned into
a conversation with Aguilar’s
summer ball coach and then
an invitation to work out with
the team.
“The workout went well
and they offered me a position
playing shortstop or second
base,” Aguilar said. “I like the
coach and his playing style and
his way of talking to players.
He’s a sturdy coach with an old
school approach to the game.”
Keeker felt the program
would be a good fi t as well.
“He’ll have the chance to
play right away and he’s al-
ready talking about looking
at four-year schools and con-
tacting them so his journey
doesn’t end at Lane,” Keeker
said.
Whether his career ends at
LCC or some other school,
Aguilar said he intends to be a
leader on the varsity roster this
spring.
“I’m really going to focus
on getting wins for my team
and being an overall team-
mate,” Aguilar said.
The last year has been a
wild ride for McNaught. She
was actually considering giv-
ing up softball because she
couldn’t fi nd a college that
offered the academics that
would lead to a career as a
oncologist alongside a strong
softball program.
Despite her doubts, she
stuck with the sport and
achieved new heights. In
2015, she hit .500, had a .540
on-base percentage, scored
40 runs and stole 17 bases.
The totality of her output
landed her on the fi rst team
all-Greater Valley Conference
and the fi rst team all-state.
“Kinsey is a stellar young
lady and being able to watch
her grow as a person and
a softball player has been a
blessing for me,” said Kevin
Wise, McNary head coach.
McNaught is also a rare
breed on the fi eld, a slapper,
which is a batter that moves
up on the ball when she is
hitting to “slap” it into a hole
in the infi eld then beat the
throw to fi rst base.
“It takes a lot of skill and
the ability to read defenses
and pitchers. On top of that,
Kinsey is probably the best
center fi elder in the state
right now,” Wise said.
The Pirates won their con-
ference the past two years, but
McNaught has her sights on
bigger goals.
“My ultimate goal is to
help them get to a national
championship, even as a fresh-
man,” she said.