PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 1, 2016
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Pitcher back from
elbow surgery
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
McNary senior forward Javier Zepeda slides to steal the ball from a North Salem player last week during a 4-H Summer League
contest at home.
Points don’t matter
into two teams—Blue, which
is upcoming freshmen and
sophomores and White, ju-
niors and seniors.
Each team is playing eight
games. The top four out of
nine squads will then take part
in the playoffs on July 18 and
20.
Since most of the schools
have just one team and recent
high school graduates are able
to play in the summer league,
McNary’s Blue squad is play-
ing against girls three and four
years older.
“The incoming fresh-
men get to feel what it’s like
to get pushed down by a se-
nior,” Nash said. “It’s awesome
because before the freshmen
would just come to high
school, and it was a pretty
scarey, daunting thing and this
allows a little acclimation of
an incoming freshmen to feel
the different physicality that
varsity requires without the
stress and pressure of tryouts.
I look at 4-H as the bridge to
that. It allows the girls to kind
of taste what it’s going to feel
like prior to Day 1 when they
come lace up their cleats at 8
a.m. and start their two-mile.”
Caleb Simpson
about development. In Divi-
sion-1 baseball, if you don’t
pitch well, you don’t play.”
In 2013, Simpson had a
major setback. “I slipped a disk
in my back. That knocked me
out of my rookie-ball season.”
In 2014 he once again
missed time on the fi eld. Due
to a strained UCL (Ulnar Col-
lateral Ligament), also known
Please see SIMPSON, Page 13
Volcanoes fall
to Dust Devils
Summer more
than wins, losses
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
The Marion County 4-H
Soccer League keeps score
and there’s even a playoff at
the end of July but neither
McNary boys coach Miguel
Camerena nor girls coach AJ
Nash are concerned about
wins and losses.
“I don’t care,” Camarena
said. “When the high school
season starts, that’s when I
care. Now, I’m just helping
these kids develop and for
them to understand what I’m
looking for.”
“We don’t put any focus
on the wins and loss column,”
Nash said.
Instead, the coaches are fo-
cusing on conditioning and
gelling as a team.
“This is merely fi tness,”
Nash said. “It’s about learn-
ing how to play with the girls
you’re going to play in the
season with. There’s bonding
that takes place both on and
off the fi eld. The singular goal
is to make sure the girls come
in prepared for tryouts.”
Nash has so many girls in
the program this summer, 37,
that he had to split them up
By TIM HAYS
Of the Keizertimes
Caleb Simpson, 24-year-
old Oklahoma native and
pitcher for the Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes, has gone through a
lot of adversity to get him to
where he is today.
Out of high school Simp-
son attended Seminole State
Community College in San-
ford, Fla. After two success-
ful seasons behind the plate,
Simpson signed to go play
baseball at the University of
Oklahoma. He didn’t quite
get to the campus.
Simpson, who had been
a catcher for his entire life,
was drafted by the San Fran-
cisco Giants in 2013 as a right
handed pitcher, just before he
was set to start summer school
in Norman.
“OU wanted me to be a
pitcher, and I didn’t throw
a single inning at Seminole
State,” Simpson said. “I was
drafted as a pitcher, and I fi g-
ured that minor leagues is all
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Regann Donohue, an incoming freshman at McNary, fi ghts for
possession during a 4-H Summer League game.
The majority of the Lady
Celts are also playing club,
which is new for the program.
“In years past there hadn’t
been a club infl uence,” Nash
said. “I really had to work with
and train people that maybe
didn’t play soccer most of
their lives but were good ath-
letes and now I’m fi nding that
there’s a good group of players
that are coming in from mul-
tiple clubs.”
The McNary boys are also
playing eight games with the
semifi nals and fi nals on July 19
and 21.
The Celtics have 28 players
and another eight only playing
club ball.
“We try to give oppor-
tunity to kids that don’t play
club,” Camarena said. “That’s
the idea for 4-H.”
By HERB SWETT
For the Keizertimes
Tri-City whipped the Vol-
canoes 7-2 Saturday, giving
the visiting Dust Devils a 2-1
lead in the fi ve-game series.
It was a game of mistakes,
even though there were no of-
fi cial errors on either side, and
manager Kyle Haines held a
clubhouse meeting right after
the game. Salem-Keizer, de-
spite the loss, had outhit Tri-
City 11-9, and there were a
few other bright spots for the
Volcanoes.
Salem-Keizer scored the
fi rst two runs of the game, one
each in the fi rst and second
innings. In the fi rst, newcom-
er Heath Quinn hit a two-out
double to center fi eld, and
Ryan Kirby drove him in with
a single to right. In the sec-
ond, Ashford Fulmer, who had
three hits in the game, singled
to center, stole second base,
and scored on Kevin Rivera’s
single to left.
Melvin Adon, the Volca-
noes’ starting pitcher, held the
Dust Devils scoreless in the
fi rst two innings but allowed a
run in the third and two in the
fourth. Luis Asuncion led off
the third with an infi eld single,
advanced to second on a wild
pitch and reached third on a
balk. Aldemar Burgos scored
him by grounding out.
In the Tri-City fourth, Josh
Magee singled to center, went
to second on a ground out,
and scored as Kyle Overstreet
singled to right and reached
third on a throw from right
fi elder Quinn. A wild pitch
brought Overstreet home.
Adon pitched part of the
fi fth inning but retired no one.
Burgos led off with a walk and
reached third when Jose Sa-
vinon doubled down the left
fi eld line.
Easley singled to left, driv-
ing in Burgos. Magee walked
to load the bases.
Matt Pope relieved Adon.
He hit Boomer White with a
pitch, scoring Savinon, Kyle
Overstreet drove in Easley
with an infi eld single. Chris
Baker struck out. Chris Mat-
tison scored Magee with a sac-
rifi ce fl y to right. Luis Asun-
cion struck out to end the top
of the fi fth.
Please see LOSS, Page 13
Future Celtics pack McNary basketball camps
A record number of boys
and girls attended McNary
basketball camps over the last
two weeks at Whiteaker Mid-
dle School.
The boys camp was held
June 20-23 and drew 119 kids
in third through the eighth
grades.
McNary head coach Ryan
Kirch and his players taught
fundamentals with an empha-
sis in footwork, shooting tech-
nique, passing and catching,
individual and team defense,
dribbling and rebounding.
The Lady Celts camp, run
by McNary head girls coach
Derick Handley and his play-
ers, took place June 28-30
with 35 girls and focused on
shooting, pivoting, screen-
ing, moving without the ball,
post movies, guard and wing
play, positive attitude and team
work.
Campers also played games
and received T-shirts.
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Left: Emma Zuniga guards Maryann Halliday at McNary girls basketball camp. Right: Ryan Lyda leads a fastbreak during boys camp. More photos on Page 13.