During Friday’s season opener for East Carolina University, in the bottom of the eighth inning, sophomore Parker Byrd was called upon to pinch-hit.
He drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch, igniting a raucous eruption of applause, cheers, and shouts from the 5,221 fans in attendance. Byrd joyfully trotted to first base before being substituted by a pinch-runner, who later scored on a bases-loaded walk, extending ECU’s lead to 13-2.
In that inning, ECU tallied five runs, their final offensive push before Rider was retired in the top of the ninth inning to conclude the game.
Though Byrd’s time on the field was brief, he is now believed to be the first NCAA Division I baseball player to compete in a game with a prosthetic leg. Malcolm Gray, an athletics spokesman, stated that the Byrd family conducted thorough research but found no other examples. NCAA spokesman Greg Johnson mentioned that the organization does not keep records of this nature.
Social media also embraced the moment wholeheartedly.
Byrd was involved in a boating accident in Bath, North Carolina, in July 2022, resulting in the amputation of his right leg. He underwent numerous surgeries to reach his current state. Last March, a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation enabled him to be fitted for his prosthetic leg, a process carried out in Chicago by David Rotter, one of the nation’s leading prosthetists.