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Sam Donko Ursuline pitcher
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Baseball
Opposing teams know Urusline’s Sam Donko as one of the most dominant pitchers in the area. What they may take lightly is his approach at the plate.
“Growing up,” Donko said, “I was actually always known for my hitting.”
He first picked up a bat and ball around age 5. He may not have known it then, but his father, Rick, did: Donko was a pitcher.
“He’d go downstairs and throw a little rubber ball at the wall,” Rick said. “He could whip it pretty good and I remember telling my wife, ‘You just have to see this.’”
As the years went on, Donko said he remembers watching pitchers, specifically, whenever a baseball game happened to be on television.
“I knew I wanted to be like them,” he said.
Donko struck out 13 batters in his first start of the year and didn’t surrender an earned run until the 12th game of the season. Donko helped the Irish to a district title and struck out 13 batters, again, in the 12-11, extra innings, regional final loss to Grand Valley.
“That was a great game,” he said. “Close and well-fought. I’ll always remember that game because it developed me into kind of knowing what has to come next in a big game.”
Ursuline loses just three seniors from its 20-6 season. “We’re set up pretty well for next year,” Donko said.
He’d like to play baseball in college, while studying physical therapy, preferable at the Division I level. He has “high hopes” for an offer from his favorite school.
“Baylor University,” he said. “I saw them on TV in seventh grade and did a project about them in eighth grade.”