Hours after losing his grandfather, Karns City’s Joey O’Donnell threw a one-hit gem: ‘That was for him’
KARNS CITY — After every game, Karns City senior baseball player Joey O’Donnell called his grandfather to tell him how it went.
O’Donnell pitched a one-hitter and struck out four in the Gremlins’ 10-0, five-inning win at Mercer on Monday. But he couldn’t phone his grand-dad after that game.
Jim Shiring, 92, died unexpectedly earlier in the day.
“I found out during Spanish class,” O’Donnell said. “My mother called me. I stayed in school afterward. We had a game that afternoon and no way was I going to miss it.
“My grand-dad would have been mad at me.”
O’Donnell’s mother, Tisha O’Donnell, agreed.
“I debated whether to call him with the news because I knew he had a game,” Tisha said. “But I figured he needed to know. He had a right to know. He asked me what I wanted him to do, and I said, ‘Your grandfather would definitely want you to play.’”
Tisha said Jim played baseball growing up in Kittanning, and six of his seven grandsons have played. He “loved” watching their games or hearing about them after.
“Joey hit a grand slam down in Myrtle Beach, and when we called him ... we could practically hear the smile on his face over the phone,” she said.
Karns City coach Josh Smith said Joey was scheduled to pitch Monday, but he was prepared to make a change if he didn’t feel up to it.
“When I asked him, he said, ‘Give me the ball,’” Smith said. “Then to go out and do what he did ... that was special. Not many people can do that.”
For Joey, it was the most determined he ever felt on the mound.
“I was pitching for my grandfather. That was for him,” he said of the one-hitter. “When the game was over, after we shook hands with the other team, I just lost it. I broke down.
“My teammates all came over, gave me hugs and comforted me. I needed that.”
His mother sat in a lawn chair down the third-base line during the game. After the post-game team huddle, Karns City’s players approached her and embraced her one-by-one.
Joey was the last player to deliver a hug.
“It was amazing for the boys to come over and do that,” Mrs. O’Donnell said. “It meant the world to me. That’s a good group of boys.”
Steve O’Donnell, Joey’s older brother, preceded him in playing baseball at Karns City.
“There’s been an O’Donnell in our program for eight years now,” Smith said. “They are great people and she (Tisha) supported us all that time. That night, we were there to support her.
“This is more than just baseball. I coach because I love the game, sure, but I want to help develop good young men who live life right, who love being around each other and being there for each other.”
Smith is 40 but still calls his father after every Gremlin baseball game to discuss the result.
“I can identify with Joey’s relationship with his grandfather,” Smith said. “When I was a kid, my dad would work on the field during lunch to make sure it was ready for our games. Baseball is common ground for us, just like it was for Joey and his grandfather.
“We had his back on Monday. We knew what he was going through.”
And he shined his way through it.
“I’m just very, very proud of him,” Tisha said of her son.
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