Community supports 12-year-old pitcher who partially lost his vision after being hit in the eye by a baseball

LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) — On April 4, Kason Bell — the 12-year-old pitcher for the 12u division Candy Crush team — threw a baseball during the spring opening game. The batter hit the ball, which came back and hit Kason in his right eye in seconds, knocking him to the ground.

“Everything, like, went dark,” Kason told ABC4.com. “I didn’t wanna open my eye ’cause it hurt.”

Kason’s parents, Kristi and Matthew Bell, rushed to the mound as fast as they could. At first, Kristi said they thought it might have just been a split eyebrow — but then “it just started snowballing.”

“What you originally thought was just a few stitches turns into a CAT scan, with emergency surgery, and then lifelong vision problems over something small that was supposed to be a nice Friday at the baseball fields,” Kristi said.

Kason was taken to an Ogden hospital, but was later flown to Primary Children’s Hospital for additional treatment after doctors determined he had sustained an orbital blowout fracture, his parents said.

Kristi and Matt said Kason was taken into emergency surgery, where doctors reconstructed his orbital cavity and he got a plate to help reconstruct his cheekbone. Kristi said there is “permanent damage” and Kason’s vision is blurry.

“Unfortunately, we found out that there was pretty substantial trauma to the actual eyeball itself,” Kristi said.

Matthew said many people have reached out to the family, including one of their relatives who received a similar injury in the past. That relative has shared information about the timeline for their own healing journey, providing insights to Kason and his parents about what they can expect.

“We’re hopeful that Kason regains some of his vision back to his eye so he can get out playing, ’cause he just loves it,” Matthew said.

Kason’s parents said other baseball teams — including the Savannah Bananas and local competitors — and people from around the world have reached out to offer support for Kason and his recovery.

Kason and his parents said safety for young athletes should be a top priority, including having pitchers wear face masks for protection.

“I threw a fast ball… I didn’t have any time to react after he hit it, and it just came right back at my eye,” Kason said.

Kason’s parents said they don’t blame anybody for what happened that day — “we definitely know that accidents happen” — and are grateful for the support they’ve received from the community.

“We’ve loved baseball our entire lives,” Kristi said. “Through this, we’ve learned that baseball has also loved us back.”

Kason’s parents said they are giving his body “a little bit of time and prayers, hoping it’ll do its magic and heal.” Kason gave some advice to other young athletes who may be dealing with a similar situation.

“You don’t always have to be brave… It’s OK to cry, and like, be emotional or be mad or sad,” Kason said. “You’re gonna get through it, and you’re gonna be fine.”

A GoFundMe* has been set up to help raise money for the Bell family to cover medical expenses and potential travel costs for Kason’s team’s upcoming trip to Cooperstown this summer.

*ABC4.com is not affiliated with the online fundraiser or the organizers behind it. While this fundraiser is designated as “donation protected” by GoFundMe, ABC4.com does not guarantee that any funds donated will be used for the person(s) named as beneficiaries of the fundraiser.

Matthew Drachman contributed to this report.

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