Catcher OK after being hit in neck at playoffs
Staff writer
Marion junior Carson Krause is recovering at home after being hit in the neck by a baseball and collapsing at Marion’s regional playoff game May 14 against Little River.
With the score 3-3, Krause was catching in the bottom of the seventh inning when a foul ball struck the side of his neck.
He initially appeared to be fine, even throwing the ball to third base to try to catch an advancing runner.
After a moment, he lost consciousness and was caught by two coaches. as he walked toward a dugout.
The game was stopped, and some in the crowd dropped to a knee.
The coaches took Krause into the dugout, where he lay on his back.
An ambulance was called. It pulled onto the field within 10 minutes.
Dispatchers reported that Krause was drifting in and out of consciousness.
An ambulance medic asked Krause questions about himself, which he appeared to be able to answer.
The rest of the Marion players gathered around Krause and wished him well as he was carted into the ambulance.
The ambulance waited on the grass for roughly 20 minutes before transporting Krause to St. Luke Hospital. He later was transferred to a pediatric ward at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
Krause’s mother later posted on social media that his scans had come back clear and that it looked as if he would be OK.
“He’s doing well,” coach Roger Schroeder said Tuesday.
After the ambulance left, the game resumed, though not without some on-field discussion between coaches.
Little River won 4-3 after the following batter was hit by a pitch, forcing in a run.