The Lebanon baseball team’s 7-2 win over Kings on Thursday, April 30, was more than just a leg up in this year’s rivalry series.
Before the game, the Lebanon community honored senior three-sport athlete Zach Amburgy, who has been diagnosed with Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, a rare form of liver cancer.
The teams and spectators wore green accessories (the color associated with liver cancer), booths at the entrance sold snacks and refreshments to raise money for the Amburgy family, and Zach threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his classmate, Peyton Livingston.
“It’s exciting. Great. I love it. It really shows how strong of a community we are,” Zach said.
Amburgy actually suffered a knee injury in the first football game of the year that sidelined him until the wrestling season. When he started to experience bloating, loss of appetite, throwing up after meals and yellowing skin, he went to the doctor and got the diagnosis after some blood work.
While hearing the words, “You have cancer” is a life-changing experience, Zach and his family, including his three brothers and sister, are keeping a true wrestler, and Warrior, mentality.
“It’s a long, hard journey, but we stayed positive from the beginning,” Zach’s father, Toby, said.
After he was diagnosed in mid-April, he spent nearly two weeks in the hospital but was able to attend his senior prom on April 18. In the coming weeks and months, he will receive chemotherapy in addition to in-home nursing care.
A handful of team mothers organized the event, dubbed the “Packed for Zach” game, in two weeks, enough to print custom “Amburgy Strong” jerseys for the team and allow Kings to be part of the festivities.
“It touches your heart. You hate seeing a kid in that situation at that age, but to see the rally of his teammates and friends, that means more than anything,” Lebanon head coach Keith Shilt said. “Credit to (Kings). They came to us. When I sent the information of what we were doing to (Kings coach) Ryan (Hayes), he said, ‘How can we be unified?’ It’s a class act.”
The Do Good Mission, based in Morrow, has posted a fundraising Facebook page for “Zach’s fight,” with a $20,000 fundraising goal for the family.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lebanon baseball rallies around senior diagnosed with rare cancer
Reporting by Brendan Connelly, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
