Photos by Tony Overman/The Olympian
Manny's parents, Julio and Mariluz Davila, comfort their son on April 2 as they break the news to him that his eye surgeon at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle has determined Manny's retina is so severely damaged the 19-year-old will never regain sight in his right eye.

Manny Davila pounds out hit after hit while rehabilitating at batting cages in Centralia on April 14.

An athlete's Vision

River Ridge baseball player makes determined comeback

GAIL WOOD, THE OLYMPIAN

"He is working hard to come back. He has not quit." -- Julio Davila, Manny's father

LACEY -- Over and over in his mind, Manny Davila replays the pitch that took the sight from his right eye, searching to see if there was something he could have done.

A simple flinch or a jerk of his head and the foul tip that ricocheted off his bat directly into his right eye during a baseball game last month would have left a lump on his forehead rather than blinding him.

But it happened so quickly that the River Ridge High School senior says there's only one sure prevention for baseball players: eye protection.

"I hope I was the first and last one to ever have this happen to them," he says.

Davila wore a protective batting helmet before the injury. But now his dad, Julio, has bought him a helmet with a face mask, similar to a football helmet and to the head protection fastpitch softball players wear.

His injury is a reminder to his teammates what could happen, but there's been no talk about requiring batters to wear face masks.

"It makes you think," River Ridge coach Chad Arko says. "Maybe that's something that should be a rule. I've never heard of it happening before. It's so rare."

Davila continued his comeback last week. Wednesday, he played in his first game since his March 20 injury. He has struggled to overcome a loss of depth perception and his limited eyesight.

"He's doing better than I thought he would," Arko says. "He's worked so hard."

Davila, after being a reserve player in right field last season, had high expectations this spring. He won a starting spot and was the leadoff hitter against Renton when the accident occurred.

"The way he was going, he could have been a late-bloom prospect," Arko says. "A junior college maybe, or small college. He was looking good."

While Davila still wants to play, he is frustrated at his inability to duplicate what he could do on the field before his injury.

"I don't want to give up on my dream," Davila says. "I'm trying not to let this stop me."

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