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.
