Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2021)
PAGE A22, KEIZERTIMES, MAY 28, 2021 McNary splits doubleheader to conclude season BY MATT RAWLINGS Of the Keizertimes On their final day of the regular sea- son, the McNary baseball team split their doubleheader with Summit and Mountain View. The Celtics defeated Summit in game one thanks to a walkoff single in extra innings by Zane Aicher, but fell to Mountain View 13-7 in game two. In the first game, Summit took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to four straight singles, but the Celtics answered back in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI-single from Gunner Smedema, scor- ing Eben Mayer from second. After Summit put up another run in the top of the second, McNary tied the game in the bottom half on an impres- sive two-out rally. Dante Olivo started the threat with a seeing-eye single to right field, which was followed by a walk from Mayer. Olivo came home on an RBI- single by Aicher while Mayer scored on an error to tie the score at 3-3. McNary took their first lead the follow- ing inning on a bases-loaded walk from Olivo. Olivo, who was the starting pitcher for McNary, didn't have his best day on the bump, pitching 3.0+ innings and giving up seven hits and four runs. But his team- mate, Hayden Kaiser, picked up the slack for him over the course of the next four frames as the big lefty gave up just three hits and no runs during his four-inning outing. “Hayden has been a solid two or three inning guy for us, but today we got a lit- tle bit extra out of him,” Keeker said. “His ball was moving really well today, and that can make him tough to beat. Getting that deep in the game really helped us.” McNary had multiple runners in scoring position in the fifth and seventh frames, but couldn't push one across as the game went into extra innings. Keeker brought in Mayer, McNary's best reliever, in the top of the eighth Eben Mayer prepares to head down the line after hitting the ball to left field. inning and the junior right-hander did not disappoint, retiring all nine batters he faced. “Eben was a bulldog today. He has been a bulldog all year on the mound and he comes into messy situations a lot,” Keeker said. “He can throw his off-speed pitch in any count that he wants to, which makes him that much more effective.” After being shut out for six straight innings, Keeker elected for freshman Trevor Ratliff to pinch-hit in the bottom of the 10th. The managerial move couldn't have worked out better as Ratliff led off the frame with a double to left field. Caption It! L AST WEEK’S WINNER Photo by MATT RAWLINGS of Keizertimes By STEVE BREEN CAPTION IT ! Email submissions along with your name and town to CaptionItCartoon@gmail.com — OR — on Instagram, go to @caption_it_cartoon to comment/like.
