A split second at practice

By Aubrey Loquellano

What started as an ordinary summer afternoon in 2020 quickly turned into one of the most unforgettable moments for RHS sophomore Jayden Rochas as a young League player.

At the time, he was playing Little League baseball and just going about his normal routine. 

“I didn't even really want to go to practice that day,” he remembers. “But I had nothing else planned, so I just got ready and went.” 

When he arrived, everything seemed pretty normal. His coach, Fernando, began practice the same way he always did, with stretching and jogging around the field. After the warm-up, he called the team together and told them to “bring it on and find a catching partner.”

The player paired up with his usual teammate. Like most practices, they began throwing from a short distance before slowly moving farther apart as they warmed up. Around them, teammates formed two lines across the field, tossing baseballs back and forth during the drill.

At first, everything went smoothly. The throws were steady, and the catches were clean. But not everyone was having the same luck. A few nearby players were struggling with their throws, especially the player standing across from him on the left.

“I noticed a couple of throws going off target,” he said. “But I just tried to stay focused on catching the ball from my partner.”

Then, in a split second, everything changed. His partner threw a ball that dropped short, forcing him to kneel down to scoop it up from the dirt. At that exact same moment, the player to his left launched a throw that shot high and off course.

Before he could react, it struck him directly in his front teeth. He immediately shut his eyes, stunned by what had just happened. “Then I felt something loose in my mouth,” he said. When he tried to spit, his tooth fell out along with blood. Looking down at the ground, he saw it lying there and quickly picked it up, shocked and in a lot of pain. 

His mother then rushed him to the emergency room, doctors checked his pulse and had him lie down on a hospital bed. They gave him medication to numb the pain and called an emergency dentist. After about three hours of waiting, the dentist finally arrived.

The dentist injected his mouth with numbing medicine called lidocaine. Then the dentist took the tooth his mother had saved and carefully placed it back into the socket where it had fallen out. To keep it stable, the dentist had to use a small wire attached to another tooth to hold it in place while it healed.

Later that night, he returned home, but the recovery process was far from over. Over the next several months, he attended multiple dental appointments, including minor surgery and a root canal. Eventually, after everything was healed, the dentist cleared him. However, he was told that he would need another follow-up appointment once he turns 18.

Looking back at that moment on the baseball field was both frightening and painful. It also served as a reminder of how quickly things can change. 

Now 16 years old, he says everything turned out fine. He has braces, eats normally, and still has all his teeth as if nothing ever happened.

“Today it's almost like nothing ever happened, “he said. “But I'll never forget that moment.”