'She's back': Monterey's Rylee O'Brien gains new appreciation following broken hand

Despite the unbearable pain, Rylee O'Brien didn't want to believe she had suffered her first significant injury.

The Monterey junior fouled off a pitch in a scrimmage three days before the season opener, losing feeling from her right wrist to her pinky upon contact. She didn't think much of it — finishing the at-bat — until she took the field.

"When I got to the outfield after that inning, I couldn't put my glove on," O'Brien said, "because of my pinky. It wouldn't let me push my glove down. It just felt like something was pulling it. That was the most pain I've ever experienced. I was like, 'Something's definitely wrong.'"

Doctors confirmed her fear, derailing her season before it began.

"I thought it might've been something minor, to be out a few days, maybe a week," O'Brien said. "We went to the doctor the next day and they told me I broke my hook of hamate and I was out for six weeks."

In laymen's terms, O'Brien broke a part of her glove hand near nerves, explaining the numbness and difficulty with movement. The diagnosis took a toll on O'Brien, who's dedicated most of her life to the game.

"It was a hard day," O'Brien said. "I cried a lot, and then I cried some more. I guess softball's all I do, so it was like, 'What do I do with my life now?' Like there's nothing to it.

"I actually thought the world was ending."

Her parents, teammates and Lady Plainsmen coach Brian Cronk helped pull her out of despair. O'Brien returned in baby steps, starting as a pinch runner before transitioning back to the field and eventually hitting again.

Cronk said O'Brien's time away was a blessing in disguise, giving others a chance to fill in for the three-year letterman and providing a new perspective for the injured center fielder. Cronk said O'Brien got to benefit from hearing "different conversations" as she hung around coaches during practices before she was cleared.

O'Brien got the green light to start batting in late March, with the understanding there's an 80% chance she could break the same bone. That added trepidation, she admitted, and with that came less-successful at-bats.

She said her confidence returned on a go-ahead, three-run home run with two outs in the seventh inning of a 4-2 win over Abilene High, but Cronk pointed to the prior plate appearance April 6 as O'Brien's triumphant return.

"She smoked a ball over the center fielder's head," Cronk said, "and when she got to second (base) I said, 'Hey, welcome back. Good to see you again.' … She's back. She's about where we figured she'd be, right around the .500 (batting) mark. To be doing that with some doubts in your mind early and still to be there is a plus for her."

O'Brien hit 4-for-9 in last week's three-game series against Amarillo High, in which every contest ended 2-1. Monterey dropped the opener before rebounding to win consecutive games and secure its third-straight trip to the Region I-5A semifinals.

As a freshman, O'Brien was part of the first Lady Plainsmen squad to reach this stage. Monterey's regional-semifinal debut began with a matchup against Justin Northwest, the team's opponent this go-round as well.

This year's Lady Texans are similar in approach to the group that won the 2021 series 2-1, Cronk said. O'Brien didn't have to be reminded how the Game 3 defeat felt, and she's looking for redemption this weekend.

Standout shortstop Alexis Lusk and pitcher Anays Perez were also starters on the breakthrough Monterey team two years ago, and Cronk hopes those veterans draw on their experience to help guide the fourth-round newcomers.

O'Brien plans to, along with the lessons she picked up watching from the dugout.

"I learned that there's more to you than what's on the field," O'Brien said. "You can contribute in a lot of ways. … It just lets you appreciate the game more (knowing) that it's not always going to be there."

Monterey vs. Justin Northwest

Region I-5A semifinal

All games at Abilene Christian's Poly Wells Field

Game 1: 2:30 p.m. Thursday

Game 2: 2:30 p.m. Friday

Game 3, if necessary: 5 p.m. Saturday

Records: Monterey 33-6-1; Northwest 29-6.

Radio: 1340 AM, 103.9 FM

Coverage: Follow @byStephenGarcia on Twitter for updates, with postgame analysis and photos to appear at lubbockonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Monterey's Rylee O'Brien returns to Lady Plainsmen softball after injury