Stepping up

Chris Humphreys
Published: June 21, 2008

FOREST — One of the great things — and one of the frustrating things — about American Legion baseball is that players will occasionally have to pitch in when teammates are on vacation or otherwise unavailable during the summer.

Sometimes they may have to play a position they haven’t played in years. That was the case in Saturday’s Jamboree that Big Island Post 217 hosted at Forest Middle School on Saturday. Both Lynchburg Post 16 and Big Island were left short-handed as players were gone for beach week. Post 16 had just nine players in uniform for its first game against New River Post 68 and 10 players for its second game.

None of the players thrown into the mix on Saturday had a better day than Post 217’s Donnie McKinney.

McKinney worked 5 2/3 innings, allowed three runs, seven hits, a walk and struck out two batters against Lynchburg in Big Island’s 8-4 victory to his earn his first win from the mound at any level in about five years.

“(The last time I pitched was) probably the eighth grade,” McKinney said. “I loved being out there (on the mound again). I told (Big Island Manager Kelley Russell) if he needed some innings from me I would try it and it worked out. I was feeling good and just kept going as long as I could. We were down some players and were just moving people all over the place trying to get a win.”

Said Russell: “We had to find somebody and he stepped up and did the job. He wasn’t a pitcher for us before today, but is he now. He did a great job.”

McKinney also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and drove in a pair of runs on a triple. And, to top things off, he started the game in center field before taking the mound and then went to third base when he was relieved in the seventh inning.

McKinney, a 2007 graduate of Liberty High School, spent this past year at James Madison University, but is considering a transfer that would give him the opportunity to play ball.

“I’m loving (being on the field again),” McKinney said. “I’m thinking about switching schools and maybe going somewhere where I can play baseball.”

Lynchburg jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Jody Ramsey’s RBI double that scored Mac Ware in the top of the first. Big Island answered back with two runs in the bottom of the first on Josh Huffman’s two-run single that plated Ethan Tanner and McKinney.

Post 16 retook the lead in the second on Joseph Dupree’s sacrifice fly and Ware’s RBI single, but Big Island seized control of the game with six runs in the fourth.

Shane Timberlake singled to center and took second base when neither of Lynchburg’s middle infielders covered second base. Ethan Tanner then reached on a throwing error by shortstop Mike Bergin that set up McKinney’s two-run triple that tied the game at three.

Post 217 added another run on Huffman’s RBI double and Jared Millner’s pinch-hit, single with the bases loaded. Huffman and Matt Wallman scored on Millner’s hit and Hunter Gordon came across the plate when Lynchburg left fielder Lucas Signor over-ran the ball.

“It’s hard when you only have nine guys,” Post 16 manager Chris England said. “We only had three guys that would have been a part of normal starting lineup.”

Ware finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Ramsey was 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run in the seventh, a run scored and two RBIs. Zack Roberts and Lucas Signor both had two hits for Lynchburg (1-5).

“All season long we’ve had one or two bad innings that have cost us,” England said. “In this game it was a mental error that led to a physical error and the onslaught that was a six-run inning. That’s what killed us and what we are going to work on Monday, is taking care of the ball.”

Huffman finished at 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs and Tanner was 2-for-4 with two runs for Post 217.

“Josh came back from the beach today and played,” Russell said. “Those hits were huge for us.

“We were down eight or nine players and all the kids that pitched in and were (filling in) did a great job.”

Post 16 and Big Island will clash again on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game has been moved from City Stadium to Forest Middle School due to a conflict with the Hillcats. Lynchburg will still be the home team Wednesday.

Post 16 dropped its game earlier on Saturday, 12-0, against New River Post 68. New River scored seven unearned runs in the top of the fifth to put away Lynchburg. Roberts had the only hit in the game for Post 16.

Post 217 defeated Rocky Mount Post 6, 20-4, in its first game of the day. Big Island pounded out 20 hits in the game. Gordon picked up the victory on the mound.

with four innings of work and went 3-f0r-3 at the plate. Bryan Sanderson was 3-for-6 with three RBIs, Kelly Wilson was 2-4 with five RBIs and Nate Oswald was 2-for-3 with three RBIs for Post 217.