Infant hit by fly ball during minor league baseball game, flown to hospital

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) - A family outing to a baseball game recently turned into a nightmare.

WBTV reports that the Prestwood family’s 3-week-old baby was hit in the head by a fly ball while they were attending a Hickory Crawdads minor league baseball game last Friday.

“You don’t ever expect something like this to happen,” Hunt Prestwood, 3-week-old Georgia’s father, said.

Prestwood said his wife Courtney grew up playing baseball and softball. She also coaches softball at an area high school.

“We’re always at some kind of ball field. Just happened we wanted to watch this game,” Prestwood said.

During the game, Prestwood said he took Georgia up from their seats to the picnic tables to give her a bottle.

“We heard people say, ‘Foul ball!’ So, I pulled Georgia into my chest and covered her up,” Prestwood said. “I kind of hunched over her but I guess the ball ended up coming down between my ear and my shoulder and struck her on the head.”

At first, Georgia did not cry, and her parents said they checked if she was breathing.

“That 45 seconds felt like it took 10 years off my life,” Courtney Prestwood said. “It was like a sigh of relief just to hear her cry.”

Moments later they were on their way to Frye Regional Medical Center where Georgia had a CT scan that showed she had a fractured skull and a brain bleed, according to the family.

Doctors decided she needed to be airlifted to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem.

“She was in a full brace and had IVs. It was pretty scary with nurses working on top of her,” Hunt Prestwood said.

Georgia reportedly stayed in the hospital for close monitoring through Monday. The swelling in her brain went down and then she was able to be sent home.

“We just thank God that we’re home and we can try to be as normal back as we can be,” Courtney Prestwood said.

But they were still comprehending how a night at the ballpark changed so quickly.

“What are the chances that it [the ball] would come down on something that small? You know, there’s got to be the one-in-a-million shot,” Hunt Prestwood said. “We wanted to be as a family and watch fireworks. I don’t feel like what we did was wrong. It just so happened the ball found her.”

The Hickory Crawdads’ organization released the following statement regarding the situation:

“We always strive to provide a fun, safe, and family-friendly experience for our fans. We have been in touch with Georgia’s family to extend our personal wishes for a smooth and speedy recovery. We are grateful to our staff and the local emergency medical personnel on site, and how our community has rallied around the family.”

The Prestwood family has set up a GoFundMe to help with the medical expenses.

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