KLEIN, Texas — The scouting report on Shane Connell: tough and focused with a clean bill of health.
Connell is an uncommitted Klein Oak High School pitcher who is lucky to tell his story.
It shows Connell throwing a pitch that gets roped right back at him. In the video, it's hard to tell, but the ball didn't actually hit Connell in the head ... it hit the brim of his hat.
"I'm great. Feel fine," Connell said. "I mean, I didn't really realize like how lucky I really was until I went back and looked at the video and realized that if it was probably an inch lower, I'm probably still in the hospital."
It was a close call that sounded the alarm for his coach, Bo Hernandez.
After being thoroughly examined by an athletic trainer, Connell proceeded to strike out the next hitter.
"There's no way we would jeopardize, you know, a kid's career or kid's health," Hernandez said.
The attention, although it came with a huge risk, isn't a bad thing for a teen who wants to pitch in college and potentially longer.
"It's definitely helping get my name out there for future colleges. I mean, being an uncommitted guy. It's kind of what you need," Connell said.
Connell said his fastball touches 91 mph and he also throws a curveball. He's about 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs about 205 pounds.
In the game his hat was mangled, he threw 104 pitches and get the win while only giving up one run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight.