The gamer

By Times Staff
Published May 22, 2006

It was the fourth inning of the state championship. There were runners on the corners, and John Killalea already had surrendered four runs.

To that point, it hadn't been his best performance. But from that point on, it just might have been.

After getting two strikeouts to end the inning, Killalea shut down Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas the rest of the way as the Warhawks rallied.

"What I was thinking right then was that we weren't going to lose, we couldn't lose," he said. "That would have destroyed everything."

Killalea went 11-0 and was drafted in the sixth round by St. Louis.

NOW: When he's not working as a cook or taking classes at St. Petersburg College or trying to figure out how to keep his pit bull, Misty, from drawing the wrath of his father for destroying another sprinkler head, Killalea hits the ball around in one of his three baseball and softball leagues.

Injuries and a series of personal problems, including a drug arrest, torpedoed his pro career.

Killalea attempted a comeback but blew out his arm in his second game while pitching, requiring Tommy John surgery.

He hopes to become a teacher, like his parents, Bill and Geri.

"I'll always have the national championship and the memories of playing with some great guys," Killalea said. "And even the stuff after that, well, I've had an experience that will last a lifetime."

[Last modified May 22, 2006, 01:05:14]