‘God had bigger plans for me’: Teen pitcher recovering after being struck in the head by batted ball

OZARK, Mo. (KY3/Gray News) - A 16-year-old in Missouri is recovering after he suffered a severe injury to his head from a batted ball.

On July 10 at U.S. Ballpark in Ozark, Kellar Davis was pitching a game for the Midwest Mavericks summer league team when he was struck in the right temple by a batted ball.

“It knocked me down, but I got back up, and I thought I had the ball,” Davis told KY3. “So I reached into my glove and didn’t feel it there. Then, my vision went black. I was still conscious, but that was when I started to get scared, and I heard people coming out there.”

The people who came out to help included Davis’ parents, Jason and Tracy Davis, as well as spectators with medical backgrounds who provided aid until the ambulance arrived.

Kellar Davis was taken to the hospital and slowly regained his sight. His parents were told by hospital officials he’d be under concussion protocol for the next 24 hours.

Then they were given more bad news.

“A neurosurgeon walked in and told us it was getting bad quick,” Jason Davis said. “They were prepping the OR, and they needed to go now.”

Tracy Davis said the doctors told them their son had bleeding between his skull and the lining of his brain.

“They did a craniectomy where they take a piece of skull out, drain the blood and cauterize the bleeding,” Kellar Davis said. “Then they put (the piece) back on with four little metal plates in there.”

Kellar Davis’s mom said the next 24 hours were rough for him.

“He was sick all night,” she said.

While she waited during a CT scan performed by doctors, Tracy Davis said she started reading a Bible her son had brought from home.

She said she read a few passages he had highlighted, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” After reading, Tracy Davis said her son’s CT scan came back “perfect,” and he improved and started walking that evening.

“It was a God thing,” she said.

Jason Davis said all of the specialists that came in the room said his son’s recovery was “amazing.”

Doctors said they expected Kellar Davis to be in intensive care for 72 hours and in the hospital for at least another week, but he was released within those 72 hours. He said he attributes his quick recovery to his faith and a commitment he made two weeks before his injury.

“I got called into the ministry, and I knew he was going to do something in my life pretty crazy to give me a good testimony for people,” Kellar Davis said. “But I never expected it to be something like this. My great-grandpa told me that Satan took a shot at me, but God had bigger plans for me.”

There was also a tremendous outreach of support from the Licking, Missouri, community and beyond.

“It’s been very overwhelming and humbling,” Tracy Davis said. “We’ve heard from people we know, people we don’t know, even people from other countries.”

While he was able to watch one game since the accident, Kellar Davis said he is determined to return to the field soon. He also said he has had no lingering effects.

“The only thing I had to get was a shaved head for it, so that’s pretty good,” he said.

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