By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
AURORA, Ore.– North Marion-grad Carter Reilly made a name for himself his second year in the Feather River College program.
In 42 games with the Golden Eagles, Reilly batted .240 with a Home Run and drove in 15RBI’s while contributing in the Outfield while being a part of FRC’s Final Four run. Reilly started in eight of the Golden Eagles playoff games. The squad went 37-16 overall and 21-4 in Golden Valley Conference play.
“This last season at FRC was epic! I did end up playing in a lot of games. I started in 15 games (8 playoff games) and played in 42. I gained a ton of experience, and really just figured out how to be consistent throughout a long season. How to deal with adversity and how to stay confident throughout bad stretches of the season. There was nothing better than that run we made to the final four. Being able to start in almost every playoff game was special and teaches you a lot about yourself and how you handle big moments,” Reilly said.
The Golden Eagle baseball program has high programs. Over the course of the last 19 seasons, Feather River College has won 16 Golden Valley Championships and has set a high-standards for their players. But those high expectations aren’t foreign for Reilly with how longtime North Marion Coach Randy Brack has ran his program over the decades.
“FRC has very hard standards. Similar to Sierra college. We get players from everywhere in the world. From Australia, Japan, Hawaii, and across the U.S. everyone plays at a super high level, so to get playing time consistently across the entire season is really difficult to do. But if you want to play at a really high level, iron sharpens iron and that competition makes you a better player and a better competitor. Those standards were similar at North Marion as well. The only difference is you go from competing with 20 guys in high school, to 60 guys who are all on your level or better in college,” Reilly said.
For the incoming college sophomore, to represent his community of North Marion has been something special to him. North Marion is still home for Reilly and is something that he’s proud to be from entering this next season with the Golden Eagles.
“It means a lot to me to represent North Marion. To represent the Brack’s and the coach who brought me up through the youth program David Schrenk. Those people taught me how to become the player I am today,” Reilly starts. “The community at North Marion is truly special. I hope that when my playing career is over I’m looked at as someone who brought joy to that community and held the high standard that the baseball program at North Marion holds.”
This Summer has been big for Reilly. He’s been playing with the Marion Primocanes to get some reps in with the focus being on his approach. The goal is to continue to contribute to the Golden Eagles, to take the next step in his game and hopefully continue his playing career beyond this upcoming Spring.
“This summer I’ve been focusing a lot on my approach and finding out what routine I need to have to stay consistent. A lot of that is just building confidence and believing in the approach,” starts Reilly. “Not so much worried about getting bigger and stronger this summer because I have the tools there to get to the next level. It’s still a focus of course, but getting as many games under my belt this summer as possible is more important to me so I can just become a better baseball player and get the most experience and AB’s that I can.”
