Blaine Keener is the type of player that any coach would want to have on his team.
The Fairfield Christian Academy senior loves playing the game of baseball, and he has played it at a high level during the summer months as a member of the Midwest Marlins organization.
Keener, like most high school athletes, wanted to play at the next level, and thanks to hard work and playing for a high-level summer team, he drew the interest of several college programs.
All the hard work paid off for Keener, who will attend Mount Vernon Nazarene University next season and be a part of the Cougars’ baseball team.
As Keener began his high school career at Fairfield Christian, he really didn’t know what to expect, but he ended up starting at third base that first year. That summer while playing for the Marlins, he quickly figured out the competition level from his high school team to the level of play the Marlins were playing was at a whole different level.
Keener was thrilled to be playing with his childhood friends, Lancaster’s Casey Finck, Evan Sines and Wes Ward. As Marlins’ teammates, they all thrived and all four will be playing college baseball.
Keener watched as Lancaster’s program became one of the best in the Central District at the Division I level. The Golden Gales won back-to-back Ohio Capital Conference titles, as well as two consecutive district championships.
Here is where Keener’s loyalty and faith came into play. In the day and age of high school athletes transferring to better programs, Keener remained loyal to Fairfield Christian.
His Lancaster buddies tried to talk him into transferring to Lancaster and play with them. Keener thought long and hard about it, but he made a commitment to the Knights, and as tough as it was to say no, Keener never wavered.
He knew the Knights wasn’t on par with the Lancaster program, but it didn’t matter. He felt like he owed it to himself and the Fairfield Christian program to make them into winners.
“They were always asking me to come play with them, and at one point, I was going to go there,” Keener said. “I ultimately made my decision on other things that were important to me, and it wasn’t based just on playing baseball.
“I’ve had thoughts, especially last year, because I knew Lancaster was going to have a great team. It kind of hurt me to see them go that far and knowing that I could have been on that team and I could have been a piece that could have helped them along the way and maybe take that next step.”
Keener just isn’t that type of person, and it was so refreshing to see him remain loyal to his school. Had he gone to Lancaster, there is no doubt he might have been the missing piece Gales needed. Instead, he chose to stay and because of that, he should be applauded.
He was thinking about others, namely his FCA teammates, his coaches and his school, instead of being selfish and only thinking about himself. Instead of heading to greener pastures, he stayed home and tried to turn his team into a winner.
“As a team at FCA, this year would have been a great year,” Keener said. “Things were starting to come together. We struggled my freshman year, but my sophomore year, we got a new coach, Josh Baker, and he has done a great job and we were starting to turn things around.
“We have steadily been getting better, and our players were finally buying into the culture at FCA. I think we had a good chance to surprise some people this year.”
Keener will always cherish and be thankful he was able to play with buddies from Lancaster. He knows by playing for the Marlins, he became a better player and it enabled him to play in college.
“Those have been some of the best memories I’ve had playing baseball,” Keener said. “I’ve been playing with Casey, Evan and Wes since I was young, and the four of us have played together a lot of years. It was great to play with them last summer and rekindle those relationships. I feel like having those guys behind me and having all of us work hard together, it’s really made all of us better. We all pushed each other in the Marlins organization and that’s what took us to another level.
“Now, I’m really excited and thankful for the opportunity where I can continue my baseball and academic career and not only that, increasing my faith and just learn more about God and expand my faith and get close to him, because that’s the most important thing in life.”
With this year’s high school baseball season being canceled, Keener won’t get the chance to find if he could have taken the Knights to the next level, but one thing is certain, his loyalty, selflessness and compassion for others will leave a lasting legacy at FCA that will be felt for a long time.
twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com
740-681-4358
Twitter: @twil2323
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Faith and loyalty define who Blaine Kenner is - Lancaster Eagle Gazette
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