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Show OREM TIMES Thursday, June 14, 2007 Sports Esc Page 8 Moreno Continued from Page 6' way he played. But Moreno also said that he didn't always play with flair. It took a special opportunity oppor-tunity to help him discover his aptitude for fancy ball skills. "That's grown from having good coaches and watching professional soccer," he said. "It really clicked when I traveled trav-eled to Holland two years ago and played there for a summer. I went with a couple of other guys from Utah and we played with the under-18 team of the club there. "There's a big difference between play here and over there. We were playing with kids that were amazing. It's not just about getting the ball to a place; you have to get it there a certain way. They helM-d me step up my game a lot ." While Moreno's footwork and speed are impressive, (iraham said that he thought the senior's biggest improve ment this season was in the way he played the game. "He improved significantly in the mental aspect of the game," the Mountain View head coach said. "He realized he didn't have to do everything every-thing himself and that made us a better sxcer team." Graham believes that if Moreno continues to improve in his mechanics and hi.s understanding under-standing of the game, he could be very successful in the sport. Moreno has already made the jump to the next level, starting practice with the BYU men's team right after graduation. He said that though it's a challenge to adapt to the new level, he's enjoying the opportunity to keep playing. "Every player there is technically sound," the senior said. "Their fitness Ls higher and the speed Ls much faster than it is in high school. They play at the speed I wish we played at in high school. It's a big jump but one I think I'll be able to make." Off the soccer field, More no Ls described as a fun-loving guy and enjoys snowboard-ing, snowboard-ing, wakeboarding and hanging hang-ing out with friends. Graham said Moreno's outgoing personality per-sonality became a daily ritual for the Bruins. "Everyone would get to practice early and start stretching," Graham explained. ex-plained. "But we couldn't start until everyone had heard the daily news update from Moreno More-no and Dust in Graham. We had to wait until they finished their stories to get going." But while Moreno might've been willing to sacrifice a little bit of practice time to "build team unity," he advises ad-vises players getting ready for high school to never stop working on their game. "I was told to practice on my own," Moreno said. "Kick it off a wall, juggle, have it on your feet just rolling roll-ing around. It makes a big difference." Jared Lloyd can be reached at 344-2552 or jlloydfa heraldextra.com. Lopez Continued from Page 7 those were intentional walks. I If you add his walks to his hit total, he was on base an . incredible .857 percent of the time. Lopez, a junior shortstop, not only had an amazing state tournament, he had an incredible year and helped Timpanogos not only win a share of the Region 4 title, but advance further in the state 5A tournament than any other Utah County team. "From an offensive standpoint, stand-point, he carried us a long ways," said Timpanogos coach Kim Nelson. "Certainly he had some defensive shortcomings, shortcom-ings, but what he did for us offensively was so valuable to us. As far as a junior, I don't think I've ever had anyone who had a better year from a sophomore to a junior. Not just hitting for average, but driving in runs and getting extra base hits." For the season, Lopez led all Utah County players in home runs with seven and in RBI with 36. He hit .450 with 10 doubles and three triples. He scored 27 runs. He was walked 16 times and was hit by a pitch eight times. He had one of his best region games against Lone Peak, where he went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a home run. "I feel like I had a good season. I went through a slump a little bit where I was swinging at bad pitches that were out of the zone," Lopez said. "But coach Nelson got with me and just told me to be patient and not to give in to the pitcher, to wait for my pitch and when I got it not to miss it. I was seeing the ball really well until my last at-bat at-bat of the tournament, where I struck out." Lopez proved to be human. hu-man. In his last at-bat against Taylorsville, he struck out as Taylorsville eliminated Timpanogos from the tournament. tourna-ment. The loss ended Lopez's season, but not his drive to improve all areas of his game so next year at the state tournament tour-nament he can be at his best when the team needs him the most. "I think the experience we got this year will definitely help us next year," Lopez said. "We have a lot of players coming com-ing back. I think we can do well next year." I Neil Warner can be reached at nwarnerheraldextra. com Orem baseball 'underachieves' in '07 wwuif.cinnLogairtoDue.ciom M 1 Bmm Steil miMmM Now .. Slimmer (Elhme&Shmtt new mm ctnrtontc m jazz, aauer, lap, lumoimg, nip nop, Technique, TapBallet combo, and Tiny Tots classes are available. 0 Hot Shots Academy Preschool is now registering new students for the '07- '08 school year. Classes are available for 3 and 4 year olds and combine academic principles with hands-on learning and performing arts. Photo by Scott Hancock Contact Information: (801) 785-5883 90 South Main Street, Pleasant Grove 0 Heritage Care Center JT2iy Skilled Nursing Rehabilitation 350 East 300 North Long Term Care Assisted Living American Fork, Level 1 Respite Care Utah 84003 Hospice Integrated Secured Unit 801-756-5293 Many Levels of Care to ft ci!ii!.iiiyiiiiiii'iii)fa B 4,.- n E a.f.Tumimf.ntiTiirinirmimwni , w Courtesy photo Orem's Goose Kallunki swings at a pitch against Provo. Russ Lyman NORTH COUNTY In his first year as the Orem High baseball coach, Gary Miner set the bar high by guiding guid-ing his youth-filled team to the 2006 Region 7 championship. The fact that the Tigers returned re-turned several starters off of that team led to high hopes for this year, however those hopes weren't fully realized and the ' team ended the season with an 11-14 record as a result. "I'd say it was a little bit of underachievement. I didn't feel like we maximized our potential," poten-tial," Miner said. "We've got to figure out a way to finish as well as we started and work better as a team." Perhaps the greatest downfall down-fall of the Tigers was their inconsistency. Throughout the season, they would go on a winning streak, then follow that up with a losing streak. That inconsistency started with the up and down nature of the Orem offense. "Offensively, we just quit scoring runs at times. Our bats kind of struggled," Miner said. "When our key guys (Goose Kallunki and CJ Harrison) were hot, we got more runs. On the negative side, you can't just expect those two guys to be your run production. The consistency just wasn't there. The key offensive players Miner was referring to both hit above .380 to lead the offense. Coming into the season, pitching was the biggest question ques-tion mark, but Nate Adamson had a solid season to lead the pitching staff to a surprisingly successful year. "I'd say from a defensive standpoint, the most uplifting thing was Nate Adamson as a pitcher," Miner said. "He was real solid all year. That was one of the highest points. The kid worked extremely hard and had good success and was always keeping us in ball-games." ball-games." Next year, the Tigers will return re-turn as many as seven starters and hope to find a way to turn their experience into wins. We'll basically be returning the same starting team with the exception of two outfielders," outfield-ers," Miner said. "A lot of the pieces are in place, but we need to figure out how to win. The potential is there for great things." , v ; I U i . i H I .1 I I fM - f M 8 1 4 -4 f I fi' y. 'ivv:',V5.-'- v 1 - r t t. All AmerifianErfce aik jf ii i 9 turn mg a Jrisptoft iihee f 1 WashrsDrycrs 1 RetngfTr 1 1 f U 1 J 0(??i492. AllAmerican; o(jjrgt.uii. JTLfy 1' 7,3!r Appliance Service 1 Why Choose Bear River Mutual For Auto & Homeowners Insurance? Our rates are consistently low because, as a Utah company, we Insure ONLY UTAH DRIVERS and ONLY NON-DRINKERS! Our POLICY HOLDERS OWN THE COMPANY. We do what's best for them not what's best for the stock holders! Established in 1909, Bear River Mutual is UTAH'S LARGEST LOCAL AUTO AND HOME INSURANCE COMPANY! POLICY HOLDERS BENEFIT from less frequent catastrophic losses when compared to other parts of the country! MANAGEMENT, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS LIVE LOCALLY and understand the needs of local policy holders! LENDER INSURANCE INC. 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