Garrett Baugh was still in intensive care Monday afternoon but had been on his feet, and Ooltewah baseball coach Brian Hitchcox said Erlanger nurses felt the senior pitcher and first baseman would be moved to a private room after doctors’ rounds.
Baugh was hit by a batted ball while in the Owls’ dugout Sunday afternoon.
“He hasn’t been hungry, but he has gotten up and walked around some,” Hitchcox said.
Initial diagnosis was that Baugh had a concussion, but then a neurologist read the CT scan and found two skull fractures and a small amount of blood.
“He’s in pretty good spirts and he has been joking around. He walked around a little, but he’s still in a lot of pain,” Hitchcox said. “Right now he doesn’t realize his season is over. I just hope that long-term he’s going to be fine and be the player he was before.”
Baugh, who signed a baseball scholarship with Tennessee Tech last fall, was 5-0 with 37 strikeouts and had allowed no earned runs in 28 2/3 innings. He had a .407 batting average.
Hitchcox had decided to rest Baugh and several other starters during the game.
“A right-handed hitter turned on a hanging changeup, and the ball hit him in the temple,” Hitchcox said. “Everybody was scrambling, trying to get out of the way. … He slumped over and then hit his head again on the dugout floor. Then he raised up and said he thought the ball had hit him in the head.
“The trainer and I got him up and got him to spit out his sunflower seeds, sit down on the bench and take a couple of breaths. I was looking at his head. He turned sideways and I saw a huge egg (knot) on the side of his head that was purple and said, ‘We’re going to the hospital.'”
Many of the Owls players had been at Baugh’s home the previous night, following Ooltewah’s senior prom.
“We cautioned them about being responsible so everybody went to Garrett’s house, even some of the parents. The guys slept over and then came to the field,” Hitchcox said. “It’s crazy. You feel like you’re in good shape teamwise; the kids have had prom the night before, and everything was OK there. We have him sitting in the dugout resting because he was going to pitch tonight, and he gets hit like that. It’s such a freak accident.”
Oak Ridge hires Green
Former Sweetwater standout and Cleveland coach Aaron Green has been hired as the boys’ basketball coach at Oak Ridge High.
The 32-year-old said he planned to be at Oak Ridge for a while.
“This Oak Ridge opportunity is a destination for me and my family,” Green said. “It’s somewhere I want to get me and my family rooted in and be here for years to come. This is more of a destination than a steppingstone.”
Green began his coaching career at Cleveland, where the Blue Raiders compiled a 153-72 record in his seven seasons. He spent the last three seasons helping in Bruce Pearl’s University of Tennessee program.
Trinity signs Harris
Chattanooga Christian’s Jordan Harris recently signed to continue his basketball career at NAIA program Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Ill.
Harris was a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Chargers. He was named to the All-District 7-AA team, although his senior season was cut short due to injury. He spent most of his sophomore and junior seasons playing the power forward position out of necessity but was able to move on the wing as a senior and averaged 13 points, five rebounds and three assists a game before the injury.
“He’s very versatile,” CCS coach Jim Arnold said. “He always did what we needed him to do; he’s one of the most selfless players I coached. Defensively, I thought he was as good as anyone in the area. I think he will do well.”
Friddell to Milligan
Ooltewah senior Caleb Friddell recently signed papers to continue his tennis career at Milligan College. He is ranked No. 54 among state singles players.
“For the most part, I admire his leadership,” Ooltewah coach Ken Buchanan said. “He takes the rein of leadership and goes. He listens very well and is coachable.”
Friddell is coming off a season in which he was part of the Owls’ region finalist doubles team. He is playing No. 1 singles this year, after playing No. 2 in 2009.
“I think he has progressed into something better and better,” Buchanan said. “He has made the changes he needed to make — as far as his forehand and backhand — and has got better and better this year.”
Georgia state tennis
Only two area teams remain in the Georgia state tennis playoffs.
The fourth-ranked Calhoun girls (17-0) will host Jefferson in the Class AA round of 16 today at 3 p.m. Dalton’s boys, ranked ninth in AAAA, will play McIntosh in a second-round match Wednesday at 4 at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.