Our boys’ baseball team won their senior night game in a thrilling 4-3 battle against Jefferson on May 16. It was an exhilarating end to the season for the team, and surely not a game to forget any time soon.

The team also celebrated their seniors before the game with a heartwarming ceremony full of family and loved ones. Each senior on the team walked onto the field wearing candy-wrap necklaces, while a thoughtful message was read to them over the loudspeakers. They shook the hands of their coaches and teammates, walking to the center of the field with family by their side.

Flowers were also handed out to the mothers of senior players on the team to show respect to the people that have supported our seniors throughout their lives. The baseball coach Chase Franks handed out the flowers and shook the hands of the senior players.

Senior Samuel Robinson mentioned that “Senior night was a lot better than last year, because we had a lot more seniors on the team this year.”

These loving actions proved effective for the Mountain Lions, as they took a three-run lead in the first three innings of the game. Robinson had a standout performance, with two runs and four stolen bases.

“I stole second every time I got on first. I put my hitters in a position to get an RBI and knock me in, and that’s exactly what they did,” Robinson said.

However, the Mountain Lions’ early success did not come without some fight from the Demos later in the game. Jefferson rallied back, forcing a 3-3 tie after six innings.

McDaniel scored the winning run in the seventh and final inning, which according to Senior Jackson Deyoung, was the highlight of the game. Junior Lowan Ouska hit a sacrifice pop fly to score Owen Sonne and go ahead in runs. However Jefferson could not stop the undeniable spirit of the Mountain Lions, and McDaniel came out on top in the end, with the final score being 4-3.

Robinson and DeYoung have both played for McDaniel their entire high school career, and one of Robinson’s favorite memories was getting a house in Bend with the team in March of this year.

“I think we played like 5 hours of pool every day,” Robinson said.

Billiards weren’t the only thing the Mountain Lions excelled at this year, and these seniors have bright futures ahead of them.