Hunter Collins' return to dugout lifts Cowan baseball to victory over Wapahani

COWAN — It's been a wild, scary, miraculous week for Cowan baseball — particularly for junior Hunter Collins.

On Saturday, April 25, during the second game of a doubleheader against Northeastern, Collins was running home and was tagged in the chest by the catcher. After two steps towards the dugout, he collapsed.

The next thing he knew, Collins was waking up in the hospital. The hit had triggered commotio cordis — a sudden cardiac arrest caused by a blow to the chest during a critical window of the heart's cycle. An AED had to be used to shock Collins' heart back into rhythm, and he spent the next four days at Riley Children's Hospital being tested and observed, finally being discharged on Wednesday, April 29.

On Thursday, April 30, just five days after his heart stopped on the field, Collins returned to the Cowan dugout to cheer on his teammates as they fought their way to a huge victory. The Blackhawks took down Delaware County and Mid-Eastern Conference rival Wapahani, 2-1, to put themselves at the top of the MEC standings by handing the Raiders their first conference loss.

"Having Hunter Collins back in the dugout tonight, I mean, that meant more to this team than anything else, more than a W tonight, just seeing number 1 back in the dugout," Cowan coach Aaron Wells said. "Last night, when you get to see Hunter, he finally got to get home after however many days in the hospital. We get a picture with him, we get to see him last night, and it just kind of took a burden off this team a little bit.

"We played for him when he was still in the hospital, but tonight, he gets to be with us, and it was more of a celebration that he's in there."

The victory also marked Cowan's first over Wapahani since 2012, when Wells was an all-state senior catcher for the Blackhawks. As Collins watched his team celebrate such a pivotal win, he found himself extra grateful for the fact that he was there to witness it.

"It was amazing," Collins said. "I mean, nobody thought we could win this game. It's the fact that we're all one big family and that I could be here to watch them get this upset win that we all knew that we were going to get. It's just amazing to be alive. Thank God, of course, I don't think it would have been possible without Him. The feeling to just be out here and just watch all of my best friends, my family play, it's truly a blessing to be able to do that considering what else could have happened."

Senior pitcher Thomas Brooks was electric on the mound as he earned the win for Cowan. Brooks went all seven innings and struck out seven batters while surrendering just two hits and one walk. Wapahani's lone run was an unearned run scored in the first inning after two early errors by the Blackhawks' defense.

Cowan's defense posted three consecutive 1-2-3 innings to finish off the Raiders. When Brooks struck out the last batter to secure the victory, the Blackhawks released their emotions with a raucous celebration, throwing their gloves into the air and embracing one another immediately.