Prep baseball: First-year phenom

There are plenty of things a baseball player can do to make a difference for his team. For Alta, it's a freshman doing many of those things.
    His fielding has been there from the start of the season. In Alta's season opener, an 11-1 win against Weber, the Hawks' Kavin Keyes was an important piece in the infield. He finished his first varsity game with six assists and no errors.
    His batting has been there every game also.
    In the same game, Keyes went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. His hitting is helping Alta score over seven runs more a game (10.6) than the team was scoring at the same time last season (3.6). And his pitching has helped also.
    In his second varsity game he entered in relief and helped the Hawks get a 10-9 win over Coronado, Nev.
    It's easy to believe he fits right in with the way he is playing for the Hawks.
    "Everyone is really easy to get along with," Keyes said. "They crack jokes because I'm a freshman but nothing really bad."
    Other players have to take some of the joking because of Keyes also.
    When Keyes went for the same ground ball senior Mike Henderson was looking to field during a game in Las Vegas, Henderson took the punishment on the field and in the dugout. Henderson was set to make a play on the ball. But Keyes didn't think his teammate was going to get there. Keyes went for it and slammed his shoulder straight into Henderson's forehead. Henderson hit the ground.
    "I was just running for it because I thought he slowed up," Keyes said. "I got him pretty good."
    Henderson, not Keyes, got the brunt of the joking ridicule from teammates.
    "I made fun of Mike for a while. He got knocked down by a freshman," Alta catcher Jefferson Court said. "He's [Keyes] a stud. We knew he would come in and be good."
    Even Henderson doesn't mind giving credit to the freshman for what he's done early this season.
    "He's a good player and we respect him," Henderson said. "We're glad he's helping our team. He's doing his part, making plays."
    He's been making plays in every game. Against Layton, Alta's first loss of the year, Keyes went 3-for-3.
    "I didn't see him during fall ball because I was playing football," Court said, "but from what everything everyone said the team knew he would be pretty good."
    Playing fall baseball and summer baseball with most of his teammates made the adjustment easier this spring.
    "I was nervous to play varsity but I've been playing with most of these guys for almost a year so there wasn't a big change when the season started," Keyes said. "I played against a lot of other players in the baseball academy too. It's still big to be playing varsity but I feel pretty comfortable."