MARCH 16, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B1
WE’RE TOOTING OUR OWN HORN!
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Tentative fall sports schedules released
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
McNary’s fall athletic schedules
are coming together and if every-
thing sticks the volleyball program
will be traveling the most in 2018.
Along with non-league weekend
tournaments in South Eugene, Med-
ford, West Linn and Portland, the
Lady Celts would play conference
games in Bend, Summit and Moun-
tain View.
The new conference would stick
with a Tuesday and Thursday sched-
ule with volleyball teams playing
each other twice, home and away.
McNary is tentatively scheduled
to open the regular season at home
against Mountain View on Tuesday,
Aug. 28.
All three trips to Bend are also
scheduled for Tuesdays—Bend High
School on Sept. 4, Mountain View
on Sept. 25 and Summit on Oct. 2.
Junior varsity teams would play at 4
p.m. followed by varsity at 6.
McNary’s girls soccer team would
do the least amount of traveling in
2018.
The Lady Celts would go to Bend
only once in the last game of the reg-
ular season on Tuesday, Oct. 16. The
girls would then play at Mountain
View and Summit in 2019.
McNary’s non-league games in-
clude home contests against Forest
Grove, Aloha and St. Mary’s and trips
to Oregon City, Sheldon and Lin-
coln.
The boys soccer team would trav-
el to Summit on Friday, Oct. 28 and
Mountain View on Tuesday, Oct. 9.
The Celtics would host Central,
Westview, Centennial and Gresham
in non-conference play and travel to
Aloha, Canby and Madison.
Cross Country wouldn’t travel to
Bend until the end of the season for
the district meet. The 2019 district
meet would then take place in Salem.
McNary athletic director Scott
Gragg said all schedules are tenta-
tive and won’t be fi nalized until May.
Football schedules are still being
ironed out.
Lady Celts in it to win it
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
McNary’s goals are to re-
peat as Greater Valley Con-
ference champions and then
play for the 6A softball state
championship at Oregon State
University in June.
But in order to get there
the Lady Celts will have to
take one game at a time.
“Last year we took it day-
to-day and that’s where we
want to focus again,” McNary
head coach Kevin Wise said.
“These girls are very driven
and losing that (state quarter-
fi nals) game last year, it’s been
a thorn in their side since last
year and they want to go all
the way.”
The Lady Celts return
seven starters from last season,
including three seniors, Nadia
Witt, Haley Ebner and Emma
Kinler, who have all played
on the varsity team since they
were freshmen.
“All three of them are just
super good kids,” Wise said.
“They got up really early this
morning (March 1) and all of
the girls that made varsity, they
went and kidnapped them and
that’s how all the girls found
out they made varsity and
they all went out to breakfast.
That’s the kind of senior lead-
ership we have.”
Witt, who has signed with
University of California, Riv-
erside and was voted Greater
Valley Conference Player of
the Year in 2017 as well as
First Team All-State, hit .600
last season with four home
runs, 14 doubles, 28 RBIs and
38 runs.
“They were astronomical,”
Wise said of Witt’s statistics.
“Last year there was a little less
pressure on her because we
had her playing at shortstop
her fi rst couple of years and
SCHEDULE
March 16 at Churchill
March 21 at Franklin
March 23 vs Oregon City
March 26-27 at West Linn
tournament
April 3 vs Forest Grove
April 5 vs South Salem
April 6 at North Salem
April 10 at McKay
April 13 at West Albany
April 17 vs McMinnville
April 19 at West Salem
April 20 vs Sprague
April 24 at Forest Grove
April 25 at South Salem
April 27 vs North Salem
May 1 vs McKay
May 4 vs West Albany
May 8 at McMinnville
May 9 vs West Salem
May 11 at Sprague
ROSTER
#2 Kate Ronning FR
#3 Taylor Ebbs FR
#4 Kamryn Miller FR
#5 Abigail Covalt FR
#6 Haley Ebner SR
#7 Courtney Roberts SO
#10 Haley Bingenheimer SO
#14 Shaylee Custer FR
#15 Emma Kinler SR
#16 Faith Danner JR
#23 Nadia Witt SR
#30 Alexa Cepeda SO
that’s not her normal spot. She
went back to the outfi eld and
she just relaxed I think and
then we also put her at leadoff,
which is also her normal spot.
“I expect a lot of the same
or maybe even better. I don’t
want to put those kinds of ex-
pectations on her. For me, my
expectations for her are to just
work hard, be a great leader
for her younger teammates.
KEIZERTIMES/Delek Wiley
McNaly letulns seven staltels off last season’s Gleatel Valley Confelence championship team. Pictuled ale Haley Bingenheimel,
flont, flom left, Taylol Ebbs, Alexa Cepeda, Kate Ronning, Shaylee Custel, back, Kamlyn Millel, Faith Dannel, Haley Ebnel, Emma
Kinlel, Nadia Witt, Coultney Robelts and Abigail Covalt.
She’s already doing that.”
Ebner, who moved to fi rst
base after playing second as
a freshman and catcher as a
sophomore, was also voted to
the All-GVC First Team last
season after hitting .465 with
two home runs, 30 RBIs and
33 runs. She has committed
to Eastern Oregon University.
“Haley can play anywhere
you put her,” Wise said. “Her
softball knowledge is off the
charts.”
Kinler, a Second Team out-
fi elder, drove in 27 runs last
year and scored 22.
Faith Danner, a junior who
has started in the circle since
she was a freshman, is back.
“I feel like she’s in a bet-
ter spot this year and she’s
working hard on a couple
of pitches, especially her rise
ball,” Wise said. “She knows
she kind of struggled with it
last year and left it a little too
meaty. We want it to get up a
little higher and she’s worked
really hard on that. She has
good movement anyways.”
McNary returns three
sophomores, Alexa Cepeda
(outfi eld), Haley Bingen-
heimer (shortstop) and Court-
ney Roberts (catcher), who all
started last season as freshmen.
But this year’s freshmen
class, which includes fi ve play-
ers, Kate Ronning (infi eld),
Taylor Ebbs (infi eld), Kam-
ryn Miller (outfi eld), Abigail
Covalt (infi eld) and Shaylee
Custer (outfi eld) are more
talented than any Wise has
coached.
“This freshmen class is
probably the most athletic
class that I’ve ever had, since
I’ve been a coach,” Wise said.
“They’re fast. They’re smart.
I think last year we had more
power, maybe, and this year all
these kids can hit and run. It’s
exciting.”
Please see WIN, Page B4
McNary shut out in season opener
KEIZERTIMES/Delek Wiley
McNaly seniol Lance Becktel pitched a pelfect foulth inning
befole getting intlo tlouble in the fi fth.
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
McNary’s baseball season got off to a
rocky start.
The Celtics were held to one hit in
an 11-0 fi ve-inning loss to Roseburg on
Monday, March 12.
“We need to get a lot better,” McNary
head coach Larry Keeker said. “I thought
our at bats weren’t that bad the fi rst time
through the lineup against this guy (Zack
Mandera). I thought we had some pretty
good AB’s out of guys. We just didn’t have
much to show for it. We had some balls
that were hit pretty well. We just missed
them or hit them at people.”
The Celtics fell behind early after
Roseburg scored four runs in the top of
the fi rst inning on a walk, three infi eld
errors and a wild pitch.
McNary senior Collin Wentworth de-
livered the Celtics only hit of the game in
the bottom of the fi rst.
Senior Carl Rumbaugh, who started
on the mound for McNary, walked and
then hit a better to begin the second. A
double them gave the Indians a 6-0 lead.
Rumbaugh’s fi rst start of the season
ended after pitching a scoreless third. He
allowed four walks, two hits and recorded
two strikeouts.
“Carl didn’t have a typical start,” Keek-
er said. “Usually he’s a lot more reliable in
terms or being around the zone and obvi-
ously when he did get some ground balls
for us, when you don’t make the plays,
we’re giving them extra outs. The reality
is we’re going to have to get much better
on the hill and we can’t afford that many
errors. So we’re going to have to play
better defense. Our pitchers, they’re not
the kind of staff that are going to strike
a bunch of guys out so we have to play
defense.”
McNary got a runner on base through
a walk or hit by pitch in the second, third,
fourth and fi fth but couldn’t drive them
home.
In relief, McNary senior Lance Beck-
tel pitched a perfect fourth, getting two
ground balls to Wentworth at shortstop
and a fl y ball to right fi eld. But Becktel
ran into trouble in the fi fth, starting the
inning by hitting a batter and then allow-
ing an infi eld single and base hit to left
fi eld.
Becktel got a ground ball to third for
a force out at home but two more in-
fi eld errors followed by two hits led to
fi ve more runs.
Robert Benson worked a one-out
walk in the bottom of the fi fth but the
Celtics hit into a double play to end the
game.
Mandera pitched all fi ve innings for
Roseburg.
“That pitcher that we faced has been
a starting pitcher for them for three years
and has been really good in their league,”
Keeker said. “He wasn’t a guy that was
dominant but he certainly was around
the zone most of the time and he forces
you to put the ball in play, which we did
and they were just able to play defense
behind him.”
The Celtics are back home Friday,
March 16 against Willamette at 4:30 p.m.
“It was a disappointing start but there’s
a long way to go,” Keeker said. “We’ll
bounce back. I have confi dence in these
guys.”