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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2018)
APRIL 6, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B1 KEIZERTIMES.COM Lady Celts win league opener By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes Faith Danner kept McNary in the game early with her arm. She started the comeback with her bat as the Lady Celts defeated Forest Grove 7-5 on Tuesday, April 3 to open Greater Valley Conference play. Danner needed only 38 pitches to get through the fi rst fi ve innings as McNary went to the sixth with a 4-1 lead. “They were attacking the fi rst pitch and I saw that so I was throwing it on the cor- ners and they were swinging,” Danner said. “I trust my de- fense and I knew they would fi eld it.” Danner drove in McNary’s fi rst run of the game on a sin- gle in the bottom of the sec- ond to score Taylor Ebbs. Kate Ronning then scored on an error to give the Lady Celts a 2-0 lead. McNary added two more runs in the fi fth inning. After Haley Ebner hit a sacrifi ce fl y to right fi eld to bring home Nadia Witt, Emma Kinler sin- gled to left fi eld to score Alexa Cepeda, who celebrated her birthday after the game. But Forest Grove answered with four runs in the top of the sixth on three singles, a hit by pitch and infi eld error to take a 5-4 lead. Wanting to set the tone for the inning, Danner led off the bottom of the sixth with a double on a line drive to the center fi eld fence. ATHLETE of the Week presented by Nadia Witt McNary High School senior McNary center fi elder Nadia Witt was 2-for-4 with a double, stolen base and two runs scored as the Lady Celts opened league play with a 7-5 win over Forest Grove on Tuesday, April 3. Witt also went 9-for-15 with nine runs scored, seven RBIs, three doubles, two triples, a home run and two stolen bases during a spring break tournament at West Linn on March 26-27. “It was on the outside cor- ner,” Danner said of the pitch. “It was kind of a fatty pitch to hit. I saw it and knew it was my pitch to hit.” Haley Bingenheimer fol- lowed with an RBI single, driving home pinch runner Abbi Covalt to tie the game at 5-5. After Nadia Witt doubled, Bingenheimer then scored the go-ahead run on a dropped third strike. Ebner then gave McNary an insurance run with a sacrifi ce fl y to right fi eld, scoring Witt from third. “These guys are just a calm team,” McNary head coach Kevin Wise said. “We fi gured out they were playing way back on the fence and we just started poking a little bit and fi nding the spots. I thought they did a really good job with that.” Forest Grove singled to lead off the seventh but Danner re- tired the next three hitters to fi nish off the Vikings. Please see DANNER, Page B4 KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley McNary junior Faith Danner earned the win in the circle against Forest Grove on Tuesday, April 3. Danner was also 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and RBI in the victory. Childress more relaxed entering senior season KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley Jacob Jackson was one of the Celtics hottest bats during spring break at Volcanoes Stadium. Jackson went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs against Hermiston on Saturday, March 31. McNary starts GVC play with road loss By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes McNary got another strong pitching performance as it opened league play but its bats couldn’t back it up as the Celtics fell at North Salem 3-1 on Tuesday, April 3. David Allen shut out the Vikings for three innings and Ty Covalt’s RBI single scored Collin Wentworth to give McNary a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. But North Sa- lem answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on a home run and double to take a 2-1 lead. McNary had won four in a row against North Salem with the last loss coming 2-1 on April 28, 2015. Behind a strong week of pitching, McNary went 3-1 at Volcanoes Stadium during spring break. Senior Carl Rumbaugh started the fi rst game, pitch- ing all seven innings, as the Celtics defeated Aloha 9-4 on Wednesday, March 28. He allowed four hits and one earned run. McNary jumped on Aloha early, scoring three runs in the fi rst inning and two in the second. The Celtics fi nished the game with 12 hits as Went- worth was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Covalt was 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs. Lance Becktel was 2-for-2 with two runs and Robert Benson was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Allen took the mound in the second game—a 15-3 win over Hermiston on Thursday, March 29. He allowed two hits and no earned runs in six innings. While McNary led from the beginning, the Celtics busted the game open with 10 run in the seventh. Jacob Jackson was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs. Please see LOSS, Page B4 By DEREK WILEY Of the Keizertimes As a freshman at McNary, Hannah Childress fi nished fourth in the state in doubles. Now a senior, Childress is chasing similar success in singles. “I’m really excited for this year. I’ve been practicing and I’m ready to compete,” said Childress, who fi nished third in the Greater Valley Confer- ence last season. “I’ve just been working on my mental game and just staying relaxed during my matches and working on ball placement and getting up to the net and putting it away.” West Albany junior Ceanne Elliot, who has won back-to- back GVC singles champi- onships, should be the girl to beat. But Anya Gerasimova of West Salem, who was runner- up last season, has graduated. A better fi nish in the dis- trict tournament would get Childress an easier draw at state. Childress lost her fi rst round match at state last sea- son but regrouped to win the singles consolation bracket. “Singles is defi nitely more stressful but this is my third year playing singles competi- tively,” Childress said. “I think I’m ready. I’m going to do my best. That’s part of the mental aspect that I’ve been working on, relaxing and just giving it my all. That’s all I can do.” Childress, who had spent the last two years playing at a tennis academy in Portland, also decided she didn’t want to play tennis in college, which has allowed her to relax enter- ing her senior year. “That changed the ball File Hannah Childress is ready to make a bigger splash at the state tournament after winning the consolation bracket last season. game a little bit,” Childress said. “The past two years I was just focused on making col- lege level and playing collegi- ality. Now, that’s not a priority and I’m just having fun.” Childress leads a strong group of McNary singles play- ers, which also includes senior Katherine Perez. Perez won three matches at the district tournament last season before running into Elliot in the quarterfi nals. She spent the summer playing in tournaments with her father. “I want to at least fi nish fourth in districts,” Perez said. “My serves have gotten a lot better, defi nitely. They’re a lot more consistent and more powerful. My forehand, I have a lot more spin on it.” McNary swept singles as the Lady Celts won 5-3 at Aloha on March 15. Childress and Perez both won 6-0, 6-1. Tanveer Sandhu won 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. After dropping her fi rst set 5-7, Avery Haymorwicz came back at No. 4 singles, winning 6-3, 6-2. McNary’s fi fth point came at No. 4 doubles, where Juana Barajas and Trisha Faye Tan won 6-2, 6-0. Matthew Osberg, a student teacher at McNary, is coach- ing the Lady Celts this season. Osberg previously coached two seasons at Pocatello High School in Idaho. “I’m happy with the team,” Osberg said. “I feel like every practice I see improvement with each player. They’re re- ally coachable and I’m feeling really positive about it.”