Generally clear. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..
Generally clear. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
Generally clear. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..
Generally clear. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
After enduring a horrific side-by-side accident that left him with a metal rod and plate in his legs, Hurricane’s Quarrier Phillips has recovered to lead the Redskins in the state high school baseball tournament this year in West Virginia.
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After enduring a horrific side-by-side accident that left him with a metal rod and plate in his legs, Hurricane’s Quarrier Phillips has recovered to lead the Redskins in the state high school baseball tournament this year in West Virginia.
HURRICANE, W.Va. — Quarrier Phillips chuckles when someone suggests that the magnets fly off when he walks by his refrigerator.
The Hurricane High School senior second baseman grins now, but the accident that resulted in him walking with two legs full of metal was no laughing matter. Phillips was severely injured in a side-by-side accident two years ago, jeopardizing his baseball career.
“We rolled seven or eight times,” Phillips said of the crash on his family’s property in Kentucky.
Phillips’s legs went out the window of the off-road recreational vehicle, which rolled on top of him. His left tibia and fibula, bones of the lower leg, snapped and protruded through the skin. His lower right leg was broken in five places.
“I was lucky it wasn’t my head that went out the window,” Phillips said. “It could have been a lot worse.”
A helicopter was dispatched to get Phillips, but weather caused it to return to the ground. After a three-hour ambulance ride to Cabell Huntington Hospital, surgeons operated that night. They inserted a metal rod from the knee to the ankle in his left leg and used screws and plates to put together the right leg. Phillips spent one week in the hospital and used a wheelchair for nearly six weeks afterward.
Redskins coach Brian Sutphin said he didn’t even consider baseball when he heard news of the accident. Sutphin was concerned with the young man’s well being.
“It was bad,” Sutphin said of the damage to Phillips’ legs. “Both legs were broken and both ankles were dislocated. He’s a tough kid.”
Phillips was tough enough to come back and play in 2021. After the 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phillips didn’t want to endure another lost year. He fought through pain and sat out when he physically couldn’t go. The Charleston Gazette-Mail Kanawha Valley co-Freshman of the Year, he played when he could until the postseason when he refused to leave the field.
“I said I wasn’t going to miss any games,” Phillips said. “I was going to play all the way through. I had a procedure on my legs right before regionals and busted all my stitched. i had blood all over my socks.”
Phillips kept playing, helping the Redskins (33-2) to the state tournament, where they fell to Bridgeport in the Class AAA championship game. Second-seeded Hurricane (31-4) meets the third-seeded Indians (34-5) again, this time in the state tournament semifinals about 7:30 p.m. Friday at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston. No. 1 Jefferson (33-4) plays No. 4 George Washington (19-15) at 5 p.m. Friday in the other semifinal.
The state championship game is slated for about 4 p.m. Saturday.
Hurricane is on a roll, having won 23 of its last 25. The Redskins combined talented pitching, excellent hitting and superb fielding to make it back to the state tournament trying to win it for the first time since 2018. Phillips said he is thrilled to be a part of this team and increased his chances of playing an important role by taking last summer off.
Most Hurricane players play summer ball, honing their skills in search of victories and scholarships. Phillips was tempted to take the field for travel ball, but thought better of it and used the time to further recover.
Sutphin said Phillips’ decision was unselfish.
“He really has persevered,” Sutphin said. “He did what he thought was best not only for him but for the team. It’s been good to see him back playing after all he went through.”
Phillips said he couldn’t bear the thought of letting down his teammates, with whom he has played since Little League.
“I want to win one more with them,” Phillips said. “I still struggle. My ankles still hurt sometimes. They swell up. We want to go out on a high note. I’m going to play.”
This weekend will mark Phillips’ final organized baseball game. He drew recruiting attention from NCAA Division I VMI, as well as Division II schools, but said he will hang up his cleats and attend Marshall University where he’ll major in business and finance.
Tim Stephens is a sports writer with The Herald-Dispatch.
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