A routine play turned into a scary moment for Tory Burgess and the Houston Lady Tigers softball team last night.
Burgess, a freshman second baseman, was seriously injured in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s game at Plato when a throw from center field hit her in the temple. Although she left the field on her own, Burgess began losing consciousness in the dugout and after Air Evac personnel who flew in from Ft. Leonard Wood examined her, she was taken by ambulance to Texas County Memorial Hospital.
Lady Tigers coach Boulder McKinney said this morning that Burgess, who suffered a concussion and cracked bone around her left eye, was released from the hospital around 11 p.m. Tuesday. She’s expected to fully recover.
The game – a 14-9 loss to Plato – was secondary to Burgess’ health.
“The doctors said she’ll be fine,” McKinney said. “There’s nothing they can do, but it’s not pinching anything and should heal just fine.”
McKinney said the team decided to finish the game after Burgess was taken to TCMH. The JV game was cancelled.
“It was hard to focus, but I was proud of the way they battled through it and continued playing,” he said. “They thought it would be what Tory would want.”
Bethany Korte and Kyla Chambers had two hits each for Houston (4-3), which lost 13-4 Monday at Eminence.
Hannah Pounds struck out seven and walked eight in the loss.
Burgess was covering second when a routine throw from center fielder Stephanie Dukes eluded Burgess’ glove and hit her head. McKinney said Burgess first wanted to stay in the game and appeared fine until she sat down in the dugout.
“It was very scary,” he said. “Anytime a player goes down and loses consciousness, then you’ve got an ambulance and helicopter, the girls were scared and concerned for her.”
McKinney said there was nothing unusual about the play that injured Burgess.
“It was kind of a freak accident,” he said. “I think she maybe turned her head a little too quickly. I thought it glanced off her glove. Other people thought it hit her head first.”
