Last week in the third round of the playoffs, Orangefield and Grandview are tied at one after seven innings of play. Eighth inning, same. Ninth inning, same. Tension and pressure building with every pitch. Tenth inning, same. ELEVENTH inning…senior catcher Carson Worthy leads off. “It was a 3-2 count. I got down 0-2 early then battled back. The next pitch was just my pitch, I guess, and I took it out of there,” Worthy said. “I think it was just pure adrenaline. And I think I blacked out running around the bases because I don’t remember doing it.”
What a time for the biggest hit of Worthy’s playing career. And it was his first homerun of the season. “He had his moment, and there’s not a person on this team that deserved it more,” said Coach Jake Nash. “And you’re talking about a guy that had just played 10 innings behind the plate.”
He “deserved it more” because at the beginning of the school year, Worthy didn’t think he was going to get to play the game he’s played his whole life.
“I was playing baseball in Georgia during the summer, and I was having real bad abdominal pain. My mom thought it was my appendix so we rushed to the ER in Georgia, and they figured out that I had a massive portal vein clot. And it was blocking the blood flow from my digestive system. So I wasn’t able to use the bathroom or anything and It was just causing all that to back up and it was straight pain.”
“They performed a day surgery procedure and the clot was too severe to be removed. So after spending two weeks in Georgia, they figured out that it was called JAK2 and then they rushed us to Texas Children’s Hospital. They were able to get the clot out but it came right back like the next day.” JAK2 causes the body to overproduce blood cells.
Worthy is on a blood thinner and a shot. “I can’t remember the name of the shot. But it’s helped to lower my level of the JAK2 mutation that I was born with.”
So there was a chance he could play, but maybe not behind the plate considering how physically demanding the position can be. But he would get a special present for Christmas.
“It was around Christmas time, we went to my blood doctor and he said we’re gonna switch my blood thinner because I was on Warfarin at the time, and now I’m on Apixaban (Eliquis). And that has allowed me to play. So I still have it in me but with medication I’m still able to play the sport I love. I feel good and I thank God for all that I’ve been through.”
And he’s not just playing, he’s leading. Worthy is batting .322 and is in the Top 5 in hits, doubles, and RBI’s while carrying a fielding percentage of .990 in 220 innings of work.
The Bobcats play Huntington in a Region III Final best of three, Wednesday and Friday in Huntsville at 7pm. And if Gm. 3 is necessary it will be Saturday night in Jasper after Worthy and eight of his teammates graduate.
-Gary Stelly, KOGT-
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