Before the accident: Kasey Ralston pitched Holy Family to the 2012 Class 2A baseball championship, throwing a two-hit, 5-0 shutout in the championship game against St. Cloud Cathedral. He pitched at the Indiana University in the 2012-13 season.
The aftermath: Ralston suffered a broken jaw, an atlanto-occipital dislocation (also known as internal decapitation), eight broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken pelvis and a lacerated bladder, spleen and liver and a severe puncture wound to his left calf. He underwent six surgeries and numerous other procedures, had his head immobilized in a halo for two months and could not stand on his own for nearly two months. He has two permanent 9-inch pins holding his pelvis together.
Back to baseball: Ralston resumed playing this spring as a pitcher and backup third baseman for the Victoria Vics, the No. 1-ranked Class B amateur baseball team in Minnesota. The Vics will open play in the Class B state tournament Saturday against St. Cloud Boudreau's. Ralston has a 3-1 record for the Vics with one save and a 3.06 ERA in 44⅓ innings pitched. He leads the pitching staff with 48 strikeouts. Beginning this fall, he will play college baseball for the University of St. Thomas.
Jim Paulsen
