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(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Ryder Taylor takes the mound in the top of the first for the Steers. The Steers beat the Iowa Parks Hawks in their senior day game held Saturday, March 22. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Harison Brockway races to home plate to score the opening run Saturday, March 22. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Mike Garcia taking a swing at the plate for the Steers during the senior day held Saturday, March 22 against the Iowa Park Hawks. The Steers came away with a 8-7 victory. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Levi Jilek, Kason Martin and Mason Milton honored with their families at senior day. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Milton standing alongside Harison Brockway and Bruin Wright as they are honored with their families at senior day. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Wright standing alongside Ty Thompson and Cotter Johnson as they are amongst the seniors being honored. -
(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Thompson and Johnson Alongside Taylor who was the final senior honored at senior day.
The Graham Steers capped off their senior day in style, with a 8-7 win over the Iowa Park Hawks in their matchup Saturday.
On a bright sunny day in Graham, the game began with a special ceremony honoring all of the student athletes who will be moving on this year to the next chapters of their life stories.
One by one, each senior was called up to get an ovation from the crowd as the press box read what the next steps in their journeys would be.
They would be traveling to colleges and universities all across the state and all of them shared fond memories during their time on the team.
Whether it was traveling with the team on the bus, playing ping-pong or hanging around in the locker rooms, these individual athletes spent the last four years becoming brothers and those bonds will carry as they take their next steps toward the future.
Each one of them added something to the team, as head coach Allen McGee made sure to reflect on post-game.
“They’ve all brought something different to the table,” McGee said. “They all bring something. You’ve got some guys who are just the heart and soul of the team, and some are just the glue that holds us together. They just want to see that next guy, that next teammate succeed.”
Early in the contest, it seemed as if things were already over in the first inning alone. The steers were able to go through the entirety of their starting lineup and scored six runs to take a commanding lead.
Some of the highlights from that inning was the RBI double to left from Mike Garcia to open the scoring. Ty Thompson followed that up later in the inning was another RBI double.
Amazingly, those were the only two hits produced in the early explosion of runs. The rest of the inning was a bevy of disciplined at-bats and drawn walks, leading to additional runs with the bases loaded.
After that, the rest of the game became an exercise in run-control. Steadily though, the Hawks started chipping away at the lead as the game went on. All the way to the top of the 7th when a 6-0 lead turned into a one-run 8-7 game.
However, with two outs and the go-ahead runners on second and third, the Steers were able to seal the deal and pick up the big win to close out their senior night game.
McGee had high praise for his team living up to the moment.
“The guys have each other’s back and they just feel that whoever’s up on the mound they’re going to go compete for,” he said. “We saw that at the end. They made some plays when we needed them.”
The Steers next game will be at home at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, against Brock.
