‘Long road’ for Zion’s Keyser following Friday collision

By Maurice Patton

Zion Christian sophomore Jaron Keyser remains hospitalized, awaiting surgery following a collision with a teammate during Friday’s baseball doubleheader against Glencliff that left him with a series of fractured facial bones.

“He’ll be at (Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt) for two weeks, they think,” Eagles coach Jon McDonald said Saturday. “He’ll have a surgery, and they’ll give him a couple of days, and he’ll have another surgery. They’re going to wire his mouth shut.

“He won’t be back at school.”

Jaron Keyser, a sophomore member of the Zion Christian football, basketball and baseball teams, will undergo a couple of facial surgeries soon after suffering fractures to his jaw and eye sockets when he and a teammate collided during a Friday game. (Courtesy photo by Matthew White)

Keyser, a three-sport athlete, was chasing a foul popup from his catcher position when he collided with first baseman Kade Montgomery. Montgomery’s knee struck Keyser in the face, resulting in a gash below his lower lip and fractures in his eye sockets and jaw.

“They said his nose is fine,” McDonald said. “They put a neck brace on him as a precaution, but his neck is fine, his spine is fine, his brain is fine. Everything should be fine. It’s just going to take some time for him to heal.

“Right now, they’re waiting for some swelling to go down.”

Keyser’s recovery time is expected to be about 2½ months, which could jeopardize his return for football season.

“He’s in good spirits,” McDonald said. “He’s relaxed. He knows it’s going to be a long road.”

Playing without Keyser, Zion Christian defeated visiting Riverside Christian 22-0 Saturday. Dylan Samuel went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, Dillon Runions drove in five runs on a pair of hits and each scored three times to lead the Eagles offensively.

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