By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
KEIZER, Ore.– The McNary Baseball team had their defense dialed in. They bent, but didn’t break against a Cleveland squad that was testing them throughout the whole game.
Cleveland finished with nine hits in a 3–1 win over McNary on Tuesday night. Despite the pressure, the Celtics i nfield delivered key plays to limit the damage and keep the game close late. McNary’s focus this season has been on their defense, and it’s paying off as the Celtics are now 5-3 on the year.
J.T. Vatcher went five innings in the start, striking out five as he helped set the tone from the mound before handing the reigns over to Isaac Bailey and Connor Price. Bailey and Price continued the intensity that Vatcher started during his outing.
“We’ve been pretty good on defense this year, it’s been a focus for us this year. The kids are playing really well,” said McNary Head Coach Jordan Keeker. “They’re learning a lot and they’re growing every game that they play. We turned 90-percent buy-in to 100-percent buy-in. This team is really young and really inexperienced, so every game that we get to play is extremely valuable. They learn something new each day.”
In Tuesday’s game, it came down to those little things. It went against McNary on this day, but it’s something that they could improve on. Against the Warriors, it came down to base-running and those little mistakes added up that could’ve made this game a little more closer, or possibly made the game a victory.
“We weren’t quite focused on the basepaths and got picked off a couple of times. We didn’t have some right reads at some bunt plays and that was really the difference in a 3-1 ball game, those little things are what matters,” said Keeker. “They’ll get better, but a lot of these kids are sophomores and a couple of juniors, They don’t have the experience yet and sometimes the Varsity speed is higher than the previous level. So they just need to get in there and feel it and make those adjustments.”
Tyler San led the Celtics with two hits and Xaiver Gonzalez drove in a run for McNary. The Celtics will host McDaniel at Roto Rooter Park on Wednesday at 7:15pm.
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Photos By Jeremy McDonald
