Missouri university to financially help boy hit by baseball

JOPLIN, Mo. – Officials at Missouri Southern State University are working to help cover medical expenses for the family of a 7-year-old boy who was severely injured watching a baseball game.

The Joplin Globe reports that Dawson Hirshey of Diamond was struck in the head by a line-drive foul ball on Friday while sitting in the stands at Joe Becker Stadium.

University spokeswoman Cassie Mathes says Dawson was immediately taken to a Joplin hospital and later transferred to a children’s hospital in Kansas City, where he underwent brain surgery. She says the boy’s mother is a university employee.

University administrators also plan to visit the family at the hospital.

Mathes says the school wants to find the best way to financially support the family.

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Information from: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com