Oak Ridge baseball player injured in dugout by foul ball

~ An Oak Ridge player was struck in the face and taken to a local hospital

OAK RIDGE -- Oak Ridge scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning to erase an early deficit and led Greenville 4-2 in a baseball game suspended after three innings Thursday due to inclement weather.

But the game was hardly the story. Rather, it was a scary incident in the top of the second inning that remained on the minds of Blue Jays fans long after they left the field.

Oak Ridge's Joe Grieme belted a screaming line drive that found its way through a narrow opening and into the Blue Jays' dugout, where it caught sophomore Trevor Dillard square in the face. Dillard, a reserve outfielder, immediately collapsed onto the dugout floor and was quickly attended to by teammates and coaches. Several teammates called for ice and towels as the sophomore was bleeding profusely from his nose.

After several anxious moments, Dillard was helped to his feet and walked to the parking lot, where he was taken by car to Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Oak Ridge's Joe GriemeCQ connects for an RBI single in the third inning of the Blue Jays' game against the Greenville Bears Thursday, March 27, at Oak Ridge High School. Play was suspended due to rain in the third inning. (Adam Vogler)

"We have about a four-foot opening in our dugouts, and there's ways the ball finds its way through," said Oak Ridge coach Bo Akers, who was among those assisting Dillard to the parking lot. "From that situation, all you can learn is that the kids need to be aware of what's going on. And [Dillard] was paying attention. It caught him right between the eyes. But it's just an unfortunate situation."

Often the ball comes off the bat so fast that players have only a split second to react.

"There are some things that are just kind of unpreventable," Akers said. "We'll try to do a better job of staying up against the fence, but he was a good six feet in the dugout, and that ball just found him."

The reaction of Dillard's teammates and coaches was immediate and helped avoid what could have become a more serious situation.

"What you do as a coach is just react and try to make sure your player is comfortable and that all the medical issues get taken care of," Akers said. "The safety of the kids is the most important."

Akers did have some encouraging words after the contest.

"It looks like he is going to be OK," Akers said. "He was conscious -- that's always a good sign. You never know what's going to happen. You hear the 'thud' and you saw it a little bit, and you never know what's going to happen when you're coming across that field, what you're walking into.

"But the most important thing is he's alright."

No further word on Dillard's condition was available. Akers was able to visit Dillard and his family at the hospital after the game but he was unable to provide a further update due to patient confidentiality.

Greenville 020 -- 2 1 1

Oak Ridge 004 -- 4 6 3

Game suspended after three innings due to inclement weather.