McDonald and the Kings are both enjoying a resurgence this season: McDonald from his surgery and the Kings from the cellar.
After struggling the first half of the season, Champion City entered Saturday one-half game behind Kokomo in the East Division standings of the Prospect League, a collegiate wooden bat summer league.
Champion City has a tough two-game road trip at West Virginia this weekend, including Sunday with McDonald scheduled to start. The Miners, who won the first half of the season to clinch a playoff spot, are one game behind Kokomo.
Champion City is battling for its first playoff appearance in the team’s three-year history.
“Our goal is to get into the playoffs, but No. 1 right now we’re playing pretty loose as a team,” said McDonald, who was born in Dayton and lives in Mason. “Everyone is pretty happy. We’re playing some of the best ball we’ve played all summer. We’re just trying not to press too hard, make the playoffs and keep this thing rolling.”
Champion City had won five straight until Friday night’s 10-2 loss against Terre Haute at Carleton Davidson Stadium.
Seven games remain in Champion City’s regular season, including four at home.
Champion City has 23 wins overall this season (entering Saturday), including a 12-9 record the second half. The team record for overall wins is 24. The team record for wins in a half-season is 16. Both were set last year.
As for McDonald, he’s 2-4 with a 2.25 earned-run average. His 56 strikeouts (in 60 innings pitched) rank third in the Prospect League.
In his last start he allowed two hits, struck out seven and held Butler scoreless in six innings.
“I don’t like to keep up with stats like (strikeouts),” said McDonald, who also had scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Ohio State among others. “I don’t look at and say yeah I’m going to be the best pitcher in the league in strikeouts. That’s not important to me.”
McDonald had reconstructive surgery to replace a torn ligament in his elbow in February of 2015. He wasn’t allowed to throw for six months.
He returned to the mound on Feb. 23 this year. The redshirt junior at Virginia Tech allowed one hit in four innings against East Tennessee State University.
“It definitely was a big factor mentally when I was cleared to throw off the mound,” McDonald said. “In the back of your mind your like, ‘I don’t want this to hurt again.’ It was definitely a very long rehab process.”
Then he unleashed that fastball.
“Biggest sigh of relief I’ve ever had,” he said. “I was able to throw it and nothing hurt and I was like, ‘Wow.’ That was such a great feeling. … I was 100 percent game ready at 12 months after surgery. I’ve been pain free – knock on wood – and nothing has gone wrong since. It feels great.”
Just like that playoff run.
Lee Sponseller, Matthew Furuto and Matt Fallon are all hitting over .300 for the Kings. Ben Hughes and Andy Fisher (four wins each) and Zane Collins and Austin Moreland (three wins each) have highlighted the starting rotation along with McDonald. Austin Marchant has a team-high three saves.
“I think once we started winning some games everyone was able to relax a little bit and now our talents are starting to show,” McDonald said.
“People have talked to us before and kind of mentioned the Kings haven’t had a playoff team yet. I know there was some mumbling at the beginning of the year because we didn’t play the best ball. But now we’re playing good ball and we’re so close in this pennant race, we’re trying to be that team to push us into the playoffs and make the Kings a name known in the Prospect League. We’re planning on getting there.”
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