In the blink of an eye, Ethan Fewell’s college baseball career took a dramatic turn.
It was the summer of 2022, and the former Academic Magnet standout had just transferred from Winthrop for his final two years at The Citadel.
Fewell had spent the first three seasons at Winthrop playing as a position player in the outfield, as a catcher and a designated hitter. In spot duty, he hit .275 with five homers and 17 RBIs during his final season with the Eagles.
To stay sharp for the upcoming season at The Citadel, Fewell and a buddy were working out at an indoor practice facility doing some live batting practice.
“We’d worked out together a bunch of times,” Fewell said. “It’s a competitive environment, so you are each kind of taking a certain amount of risk.”
Fewell
About a half-hour into the session, the pitcher threw a fastball that got away from him, high and inside. As Fewell turned to get out of the way, the ball hit him directly in the right eye, the back eye for a right-handed hitter.
“It was just an unfortunate accident, a pitch was up and in and it hit me,” Fewell said. “It was a freak accident; the guy and I are still really close.”
The swelling from the injury was so bad that Fewell couldn’t open his right eye for almost a week.
“When I heard what happened to Ethan, my stomach just dropped,” said The Citadel coach Tony Skole. “I didn’t know Ethan that well at that point, hadn’t even had a chance to coach him yet, and then this happens.”
When Fewell was finally able to open his eye, his vision was limited. He went to several doctors, including a few specialists who told him that his vision might not ever be what it was before the accident and might only improve slightly.
“They wanted to wait six months and see how much of my vision returned,” he said.
When the swelling subsided, Fewell figures his vision was about 40 percent of what it had been prior to the injury. There was a build-up of fluid and scar tissue around his retina that might not be repaired even with surgery.
“I could pick up shapes on the far right of my vision, but otherwise my eyesight was permanently gone,” Fewell said.
In the fall, Fewell was determined to return to the field in some capacity. Skole wanted to take his rehab slowly.
“Ethan wanted to jump right back in with both feet,” Skole said. “I was a little more cautious. We were going to do whatever he wanted. I was nervous watching him play catch before practice.
“Ehtan worked really hard that fall. He never dropped a ball in the outfield. He was still able to hit in batting practice; Ethan had some pop in his bat, but live hitting was frustrating for him.”
While his vision didn’t affect his fielding, picking up the ball at the plate was a different story. Breaking balls especially gave him trouble.
“I couldn’t pick up the spin of the ball,” Fewell said. “Yeah, it got very frustrating.”
The Citadel assistant coach Blake Cooper remembered that Fewell had been a solid pitcher in high school and during travel ball.
“(Cooper) had me throw a bullpen session and liked what he saw,” Fewell said.
Fewell spent that Christmas break reinventing himself as a pitcher.
“I’d done a lot of pitching in high school and during travel ball, so this was nothing new for me,” Fewell said. “I stopped pitching in college because the best way for me to get on the field had been as a position player. I spent that Christmas break just getting back into the groove of being a pitcher.”
Armed with a 90-plus mph fastball, Fewell proved to be perfect fit in the Bulldogs' bullpen. Over the past two seasons, Fewell has made 30 appearances, picking up a win and save in the process.
“He’s got a good arm,” Skole said. “He’s going to throw a lot of strikes. He’s starting to put together a good pitch package. He has developed a really good breaking ball and he’s starting to get a good feel for his changeup.”
Fewell will be making the first start of his collegiate career on April 23 against cross-town rival College of Charleston at Riley Park.
“It’s amazing to see what he’s accomplished the last two years,” Skole said. “A lot of kids would have shut it down after what happened to him and coming into a clubhouse where he didn’t know anyone. Ethan is probably one of the most popular players in our locker room. He’s a superstar kid.”
