Anderson Shines on Senior Night

Published by editor on Mon, 07/03/2023 - 11:59am

Keota’s Aidan Anderson was lights out from the mound on his senior night, as he only gave up two hits in seven innings of play Photos by Sean Strohmayer

By:

Sean Strohmayer

The News-Review

KEOTA—The Keota Eagles wrapped up their regular season with a conference matchup at home against the English Valleys Bears. The Eagles snuck past the Bears by a final score of 2-0.

Before the game, the Keota Eagles held a ceremony to celebrate the careers of seniors Dalton Dodd, Caleb Waterhouse and Aidan Anderson.

Dodd reflected on his career as a Keota Eagle with, “I always had a lot of fun. You know we had a couple of bad moments and a couple losses we should’ve won over the five years we played here, but other than that it has been fun.”

Waterhouse also spoke of his time wearing a Keota jersey with, “In Keota, we are hard working. We get stuff done on the field. Whatever sport you play, you are working hard.”

Anderson described his time as an Eagle with, “In the past years, we’ve had really good winnings seasons. We’ve only been .500 this year, but it honestly has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve had. Whether we are winning or losing, we are always having fun on the field, and just making it last.”

The two runs of the game came in the bottom of the third inning. Aidan Anderson stepped up to the plate with two runners on and two outs. Anderson ripped a single into right field that drove in both the runners. The Eagles held onto this lead en route to the 2-0 victory.

Anderson also got the start from the bump, and finished his day with seven innings pitched, no earned runs on two hits and four strikeouts. Anderson spoke on his performance with, “It feels really great. I came into today hoping that I would make contact with the ball, and throw some pitches so that our defense wouldn’t have to do too much work. They played well behind me, and it was a really fun game for me.”

The Eagles finish their regular season with a record of 10-11, and a conference record of 5-7. They will return to action on June 1, when they face off against the Pekin Panthers at Hillcrest Academy high school for the first round of the Class 1A-Region 5 bracket.

The Bears finished off their season with a winless record of 0-18. They will return to action on July 1, when they visit the Don Bosco Don at BGM high school for the first round of the Class 1A-Region 4 bracket.