PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 10, 2019
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KEIZERTIMES.COM
Walling fi nds joy in
recruitment process
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Junior Walling still has
another year of high school
football left to play. But there
are a number of major col-
lege programs that are al-
ready greatly interested in
the McNary linebacker’s ser-
vices in 2020.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound-
er has gained scholarship of-
fers from major programs
such as, Oregon State, Utah,
Air Force and Army. He has
also taken recruiting trips
— also known as unoffi cial
visits — to Oregon, Purdue,
Colorado, UCLA and Boise
State.
During these trips, Wall-
ing gets to see the individ-
ual campuses fi rst-hand and
talk with different coaches
and coordinators about edu-
cational programs, defensive
schemes and learn about the
overall motto and environ-
ment of each program.
“Going on these trips has
been really cool because I
get to see the differences
with each school,” Walling
said. “It’s for sure been an
experience I’ll never forget.
I’ve really enjoyed it so far.”
Walling actually got his
fi rst offer from Oregon State
last spring after having a
stellar sophomore season in
2017. Walling’s father, Jason,
played at OSU in the early
‘90s.
“That was real huge for
me and my family, especial-
ly with my dad playing there
and all my family graduating
from there,” Walling said. “It’s
always been a huge dream of
mine to play at the college
level so that was a big mo-
ment of my life.”
While Walling has always
had a connection with Ore-
gon State, he wants to make
sure he gives every school,
that has shown interest, a fair
shake.
“I’ve been a Beaver fan
for most of my life, but I’m
all about fi nding what school
best fi ts me,” Walling said.
With the many recruiting
trips he has taken over the
last several months, it can be
quite a challenge for Walling
to maintain balance in his
life.
Along with being an
outstanding football play-
er, Walling also competes
for the Celtics in basketball,
works out four times a week
with a trainer and has kept
a 4.0 grade-point average
all through high school —
which is one of the reasons
he has also received offers
from Yale and Princeton.
However, in large part
due to his understanding
teachers, Walling is still able
to make his schooling a top
priority, despite his crazy
schedule.
“My teachers are crazy
supportive and understand-
ing with everything that I’m
doing,” Walling said. “School
has always come fi rst for
me, so it’s always been real-
ly important to make sure
I’m getting my schoolwork
done.”
As a junior in 2018, Wall-
ing was dominant on both
sides of the football in lead-
ing McNary to a Mountain
Valley Conference title. He
ended the season with 86 to-
tal tackles (49 solo, 37 assist-
ed) with 16 tackles for loss
and fi ve sacks.
As a running back,
Please see WALLING, Page A13
File
Junior Walling (right) with his dad, Jason, on an unoffi cial visit
to Oregon State University last year.
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
McNary’s Taylor Ebbs doubles in a game against West Salem back in April.
Lady Celts continue to
dominate conference play
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Everything is clicking
right now for the McNary
softball team.
A nine-run second inning
helped McNary jump out to
a huge lead early on, and the
Celtics never looked back as
they defeated Mountain View
on Tuesday, May 7 for their
10th straight victory.
The Celtics moved to 11-1
in Mountain Valley Confer-
ence play and have a comfort-
able two game lead at the top
of the standings.
Alexa Cepeda and Taylor
Ebbs each went 3-for-3 with
two RBIs at the dish for Mc-
Nary. Faith Danner and Abbi
Covalt each chipped in with
three RBIs.
Danner also started the
game in the circle and pitched
a perfect frame in her only in-
ning of work. Freshman Han-
nah Ebner fi nished the job on
the mound as she went four
innings and gave just three
hits and no earned runs while
striking out fi ve.
It was the fourth time
this season that McNary had
shutout an MVC opponent.
A two-run double by Dan-
ner in the top of the fi rst gave
McNary the 2-0 cushion. The
Celtics brought in two more
runs later in the inning on a
walk and a fi elder’s choice to
extend their advantage to 4-0.
In the following frame,
McNary put the game away
in emphatic fashion.
After a leadoff walk by
Cepeda, Covalt and Ebbs
each came through with an
extra-base hit. Two batters
later, Kate Ronning got in on
the action with an RBI-sin-
gle to left fi eld, putting the
Celtics on top 7-0.
McNary would wind up
getting a total of eight RBI-
hits in the inning to take a
13-0 lead.
This was McNary’s ninth
victory this season that came
by 10 runs or more.
The Celtics will host Bend
on senior day Saturday at
noon.
McNary falls just short against Sprague
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
Despite getting the ty-
ing and go-ahead runs on
base with one out in the
top of the seventh, the Celt-
ics couldn’t push either one
across as the McNary base-
ball team fell to Sprague 5-4
on Tuesday, May 7.
But considering that they
were going up one of the top
teams in the Mountain Valley
Conference
shorthanded,
McNary head coach Larry
Keeker was pretty pleased
with some of the things that
he saw from his club.
“I was really proud of the
way we battled offensive-
ly today to make it a close
game,” Keeker said. “There
was a lot to like about what
we did in this game.”
The Celtics were with-
out two of their best players
in Jacob Jackson and Nigel
Harris — who have missed
the last three games for Mc-
Nary after getting injured at
practice last week. Jackson
is dealing with a knee issue,
while Harris is recovering
from a high ankle sprain.
Jackson is the Celtics
starting shortstop and is third
on the team in hitting with
a .329 average (minimum 10
at-bats). Harris, who starts in
the outfi eld, is batting .312
and has proved to be one of
the Celtics most reliable re-
lief pitchers.
Not having either play
could be costly for Mc-
Nary as they head down the
KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings
Alex Simpson sprints down the life after hitting a hard ground ball to the left side. Simpson went 2-for-4 in the contest, but the
Celtics still fell to Sprague by a score of 5-4.
stretch of the regular season.
“(Jackson) is in his third
year of varsity baseball and is
one of our captains, so obvi-
ously losing him off the fi eld
makes a difference,” Keeker
said. “And Nigel came off
two really good pitching
performances for us, so los-
ing him really hurts.”
“Now there are oppor-
tunities for other guys, so
they’re going to have to step
up and makes some plays for
us.”
Devon Bedoya got the
start on the mound for the
Celtics and made a habit of
getting himself out of tough
situations.
Sprague had the bases
loaded and nobody out in
the bottom of the fi rst. But
after giving up a sacrifi ce fl y
to Michael Soper, Bedoya
ended the inning by forcing
two straight popouts.
The Olympians scored
two more in the bottom of
the second, but McNary fi -
nally responded when they
came to the plate in the top
of the third.
Ian Martin hit a one-
out single up the middle to
get the Celtics going, then
advanced to second after
Sprague pitcher Will Delo-
retto’s pick off throw got past
the fi rst baseman and went
into right fi eld.
Martin would later score
on a sharp RBI-single to
left fi eld by Robert Benson,
trimming the defi cit to 3-1.
Bedoya gave up another
run in the bottom half of the
frame, but would help out
his cause at the plate when
he came to bat in the top of
the fourth.
Singles by David Allen
and Jamison Martin, as well
as a walk from Noah Bach,
allowed McNary to load the
bases with one out when
Bedoya stepped to the plate.
The senior smoked a line
drive up the middle that
glanced off Deloretto’s glove
and found its way into center
fi eld, allowing the Celtics to
cut the lead to one with the
two-run single.
Alex Simpson was retired
for the second out of the in-
ning on an infi eld pop-up,
but Martin picked up his
teammate and drove an op-
posite-fi eld RBI-single to
right fi eld to tie the game at
4-4.
“Once one person gets
on, it just starts a chain reac-
tion and everyone gets their
confi dence back,” Martin
said.
Sprague regained the lead
with a run in the bottom of
the fourth and was looking
to get some insurance runs
in the bottom of the fi fth.
The Olympians had the bas-
es loaded with nobody out as
Bedoya appeared to be run-
ning out of gas.
But after retiring the next
hitter on a popout, Bedoya
Please see BASE, Page A12