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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2021)
SPORTS 6A — BAKER CITY HERALD SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2021 BAKER GIRLS SOCCER Bulldogs rout Ontario, 6-1 Livingston added another score. Baker’s other goal came The Baker girls soccer on an own goal by Ontario. team dominated Ontario Baker led 6-0 at halftime. Thursday, March 18 at the “It was good, they were Sports Complex, topping the starting to get their legs, so Tigers 6-1 to improve to 3-2 I think they could run the on the season. whole game, it was nice to All of the Bulldogs’ offense see that they can keep the took place in the first half. pressure,” Baker coach Eric Freshman Daphne Layton said. Thomas and sophomore Syd- In the second half, rather nee Pierce each scored a pair than pushing for more shots of goals, and freshman Jozie on goal, Layton challenged By Corey Kirk ckirk@bakercityherald.com the Bulldogs to focus on passing. Layton is looking forward to Baker’s next action, a rematch against La Grande, at La Grande, on April 1. The Tigers beat Baker 9-1 on March 10. “Getting a win against Ontario is pretty big, but the big bull’s-eye would be La Grande, traveling there and just performing well,” Layton said. BAKER BOYS SOCCER Buell Gonzales Jr./Contributed Photo Mason Van Arsdall was accompanied by his parents, Jef and Raeann, when he signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Eastern Oregon University. Tigers tame Baker boys Ontario scored its fi nal goal early in the second half. The Baker boys soccer team, playing at After a Tiger touched the ball with his home for the fi rst time this season, lost 4-1 hand, Baker junior Isael Duran took the free to Ontario on Thursday. kick and an Ontario player tipped it in for a After allowing three goals early, Baker’s Baker goal. defense tightened up. “It was a good placement, and a hard Senior Dakota Rilee, a defenseman and shot,” Benites said. “That’s what you are captain, was pleased with the Bulldogs’ looking for, a defl ection or something with effort. the ball landing in the back of the net.” “I am very proud,” Rilee said. “With all Despite falling to 1-4 on the season, the of our defenders it’s not just one person, Bulldogs are excited about playing their it’s working around and trusting players is remaining four matches at home, Rilee said. what we are trying to get used to.” “It’s awesome that we will be able to see Going into halftime trailing 3-0, Baker fans here, and really show them we can coach Victor Benites said he emphasized the fi ght hard here,” Rilee said. need for his players to communicate better. Baker plays host to Nyssa today at 2 p.m. By Corey Kirk ckirk@bakercityherald.com BULLDOGS Continued from Page 5A In front of family and members of her team, Keller signed on with Belmont-Ab- bey for a partial scholarship in the fall. Sharing this mo- ment with her three siblings and her parents, Keller was ecstatic. “They were all super psyched for me,” Keller said. With the next few months packed with shortened sports seasons, Keller, who is run- ning with the Baker cross- country team now, is going to bask in her remaining time as a Bulldog. She feels grate- ful for what athletics at BHS have given her the past four years. “It meant a lot to me, get- ting to have all these friends throughout high school, and all the memories that we have and all the fun times that I can think of — us go- ing out of town, adventures running, and the bus rides defi nitely,” Keller said. “It will hold a special place in my heart as I move on to the next level.” Keller, a valedictorian for the Baker High Class of 2021, intends to study pre-physical therapy at Belmont-Abbey. “From the time he was a freshman until now, he’s competed every opportunity we offered here in Baker, whether it was the summer program or the high school program, he’s been involved since he entered high school.” — Al McCauley, assistant baseball coach at Baker High School, talking about Mason Van Arsdall Arsdall said. “You learn from failure in every sport, but in baseball you can fail seven out of ten times and you can still be successful.” He’s referring to a baseball player who gets three hits in 10 at-bats — a .300 aver- age — but is still considered above-average. Al McCauley, an assistant baseball coach for Baker during Van Arsdall’s time as a Bulldog, has been impressed with his growth and progress. “From the time he was a freshman until now, he’s com- peted every opportunity we offered here in Baker, whether it was the summer program or the high school program, he’s been involved since he entered high school,” McCauley said. When the idea of recruit- ment for colleges became a possibility, Van Arsdall relied on the support of his coaches, including head coach Tim Smith. “They just gave me a lot of Mason Van Arsdall, advice on how to get a hold baseball, Eastern Oregon of coaches, and how to keep University conversations going,” Van Arsdall said. “Academically, EOU is He had conversations with Linfi eld University and West- just a great fi t for me. I ern Oregon University. just thought EOU was the But when Van Arsdall best fi t overall.” learned that EOU, which had cut its baseball program in — Mason Van Arsdall, who will play baseball at Eastern 2006, was resuming the sport Oregon University in in 2021, he was excited. La Grande “Academically, EOU is just a great fi t for me. I just thought EOU was the best fi t overall,” an Arsdall has Van Arsdall said. competed in football, McCauley also thinks EOU basketball and is a good choice for Van Ars- baseball during his four years dall, and a place where he can as a Bulldog. continue to develop his skills But baseball, he decided, as a catcher and, potentially, was his best option for con- at other positions. tinuing his career in college. “He’s a big kid, he’s caught He signed a letter of intent all of his career, he has an to play for Eastern Oregon open mind where he is going University in La Grande. to fi t in — it may be as a “Baseball is my favorite catcher, a fi rst basemen, it sport. I love the aspect that may be as a third baseman,” you learn from failure,” Van McCauley said. “Something V that baseball players need to work on as they progress through the levels is adapting to different pitching and dif- ferent pitches.” Due to COVID-19, EOU’s baseball program has money available for competitive scholarships, meaning he’ll have to compete for the fi nan- cial assistance. “There’s money on the table, but everybody is going to be competing for it,” Van Arsdall said. Decked out in Eastern Oregon’s blue and gold, Van Arsdall signed his letter of in- tent in front of family, friends and even some of his coaches. “It was a relief getting to put pen to paper fi nally, and have a decision made for the next four years,” Van Arsdall said. Van Arsdall will join two former BHS teammates in playing college baseball. Spen- cer Shirtcliff plays at Blue Mountain Community College, and McCauley’s son, Sam, plays for Dordt University. Seeing multiple Bulldogs go on to compete at college is a source of pride for Al McCau- ley. “It’s a pretty rewarding ex- perience as a coach,” McCauley said. Because Van Arsdall will be attending EOU, just a 45-min- ute drive from Baker City, he hopes his time with BHS athletics won’t end with his graduation. He hopes to come back occasionally to volunteer to work with Bulldog baseball players. “When I’m down at Eastern maybe I’ll come to visit some practices, come help kids and kind of be a role model to those in Baker, because I’m not going to be too far away,” Van Arsdall said. “I know a lot of the younger kids coming up through the program.” He intends to study wildlife biology at EOU. POWDER VALLEY FOOTBALL Badgers roll past Elgin NORTH POWDER — Elgin scored fi rst but Powder Valley scored a lot more often Thursday as the Badgers won 44-12 in their fi rst home game of the season to improve to 3-0. “Elgin played a really good fi rst half,” Powder Valley coach Josh Cobb said. The Badgers led 12-6 after one quarter and 20-6 at halftime, and dominated the second half. Gusty winds interfered with the passing game so the Badgers mainly stayed on the ground, Cobb said. Quarterback Reece Dixon had 122 yards rushing and two scores, Clay Martin 93 yards and a touchdown, and Ethan Ste- phens 69 yards and two scores. Case Olson had a rushing touchdown. Dixon threw for 98 yards and two scores, one to Kaden Krieger and one to Cole Martin. Powder returns to action Tuesday, March 23 at noon at home against Dufur, Cobb’s alma mater. It will be Cobb’s fi rst game coaching against his former coach, Jack Henderson. Rich, poor, old, young. Compassion doesn’t discriminate. Our calling is you.