Xavier’s Giles battling back from injury

CEDAR RAPIDS - Injuries in baseball aren't as common as in other sports, but often can cause a major gasp from the crowd.

Cedar Rapids Xavier's third basemen KJ Giles took a grounder to the face against Iowa City High earlier this season. It was in the third inning when the ball was hit to Giles toward third base.

'There was a hard ground ball hit to third and I dove to my left to make the play,” Giles said. 'The ball hit the lip of the grass, took a bad hop, and hit me square in the eye.”

Giles' left eye became swollen rapidly. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance and was there for three hours.

'It was a throbbing pain in my head that was bad the first two days after I got hit,” Giles said.

He describe the pain as different from a concussion, but worse than a concussion. Giles got a concussion in 8th grade football.

The result of the injury was seven stitches in his eyebrow, a fractured cheek and a bruised retina. The injury caused Giles to miss only two weeks of baseball because he opted to wear protective goggles. If he didn't, it would have taken him four to six weeks to recover.

The Saints are on a cold streak with a five-game losing streak. The most recent defeat came at the hands of Dubuque Senior. The Saints next game will be against Dubuque Hempstead on Friday at Xavier.