Clutch Keyser leading 'Roaders
Originally published
March 31, 2007
BRUNSWICK --
Anytime a South Hagerstown runner
reached second base on Friday, he
was greeted on the very next pitch
by a cloud of dirt and dust in the
base path.
It was Brunswick
shortstop Seth Keyser, simply
reminding the runner as he got his
lead that he loomed right behind
him.
"The real purpose
is, if I can't get all the way to
him, to let him know I'm there,"
Keyser said. "I'll kick some dirt on
him, he feels it on his heels, it
lets him know I'm right there."
As quickly as the
second at-bat of the Rebels' 8-5
victory on Friday, Keyser got
everyone's attention. He spun, and
chugged with his back to the infield
for a lazy fly ball, finally
securing a Willie Mays-like,
over-the-shoulder catch for an out.
Three other
defensive gems followed, along with
three hits and two RBIs for Keyser,
the Railroaders' No. 3 hitter.
Even in defeat,
there's no doubting his value to
Brunswick this spring.
"He's our clutch
guy. He's the guy we look to do big
things with the bat," Railroaders
coach Roger Dawson said. "And as you
can see, he's a stud with the glove.
He's our leader, he's our guy. He's
the one who kind of gets the train
rolling."
Much like his
dirt-kicking strategy, most of what
Keyser does on the baseball diamond
takes on a cerebral approach.
He said he pursued
his first-inning catch because he
noticed the outfield lost the fly
ball in the sun, and didn't react.
The three times he sidestepped to
his left, and into the hole behind
second base to deny South Hagerstown
sure singles, it was because he
acknowledged an inside pitch
delivered by his teammate on the
mound.
"I just try to
look where the pitch is going, and
lean into it a little bit," Keyser
said. "Just to get a jump."
Keyser's finest
defensive moment Friday came in the
sixth inning, when the Rebels'
Brandon Knight slapped a grounder up
the middle. Keyser dove to the dirt
for the ball and scooped it clean,
gathered himself and flicked it to
second baseman Mike Minch for an
easy put-out on a runner advancing
from first.
"We try to think
ahead. If you get a ground ball,
think what you're going to do with
it. He does that real well," Minch
said of Keyser, his longtime friend.
The pair has manned the middle
infield on various Brunswick teams
for seven straight years.
"That play was just
normal 'us,'" Minch said. "We have a
lot of rhythm, and a lot of fun
there."
Keyser also brings
his mind to the plate with him on
offense. Historically an
opposite-field hitter, he's been
working hard to broaden the
placement of his hits.
On Friday, both of
his doubles, including a two-run
gapper that keyed a four-run fourth
inning for the Railroaders, shot
almost right up the middle.
"I've been an oppo
hitter my whole life," Keyser said.
"If I hit it to left field or
center, I guess I'm getting better."
South Hagerstown
(2-0) was Brunswick's third opponent
this week, leaving the Railroader
pitching staff thin. Starter Chris
Porter staked Brunswick (1-3) to a
4-1 advantage by the fourth inning
before his exit. Three other
Railroader hurlers toed the rubber
after him, yielding the Rebels seven
runs the rest of the way.
"We were out of
arms," Dawson said. "But I thought
it was a good battle."
Brunswick loaded the
bases in their final at-bat in the
seventh, but Keyser, who finished
3-for-5, struck out swinging against
South's Spencer Cromer to end the
game.
Tim Hamilton had two
hits and three runs scored, and
Derek Hendershot added two hits and
three RBIs for the Rebels.
Davis Keller also
contributed two hits for the
Railroaders.
By
Jason Barbato
News-Post Staff
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