How a UConn baseball player pivots after batting accident leaves blind spot

Дата публикации: 10-08-2026 18:26:28

An accident at baseball practice has left UConn athlete Connor Lane with a permanent blind spot in his right eye — but it didn’t stop him from finding a way to get back on the field. 
It happened during Lane’s sophomore season after the team had just gotten back from their first road trip of the year.  
“I took a swing on a pitch that was inside, I swung, and foul tipped it. It went right into my eye,” Lane said. “The center of my vision is almost gone completely, so it’s super blurry… even stuff that’s pretty close, it’s still hard to see.” 
The eye injury comes just less than a year after he recovered from a blood clot in his right shoulder. Lane has been a catcher for his entire baseball career. To continue playing baseball, he had no choice but to switch to pitching, something he hasn’t done since his time at Old Saybrook High School. 
“It was different for sure. I mean, I’ve caught my whole life. I pitched in high school a little, but I never worked at it or competed at this level with pitching,” said Lane.
Almost four months after the injury, Lane is back on the field. This summer he played for the Mystic Schooners, a collegiate baseball summer league that competes in the Southern Division of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). Lane now wears protective glasses every time he pitches. Mystic Schooners head coach Phil Orbe knew about his talent from early on. 
“I’ve known [Lane] since he was about five or six. I’ve always followed his career. I went to a couple of his high school games, so I did have a personal interest in it,” Orbe explained. “He also was a very talented young man who was very determined, and his perseverance is off the charts—  things that he’s had to overcome.”
Lane appeared in 15 games and pitched in 19 innings this season for the Schooners. He hopes to pitch for UConn this season. 
“He’s able to compartmentalize things. There’s so many things going on in the game but he’s able to have tunnel vision where he is just locked in. Particularly someone that hasn’t had a lot of experience on the mound, particularly in a league such as this. He really came in and just locked in for us,” said Orbe.
Orbe says Lane is a quiet kid. However, his perseverance is louder — and proof that it’s never too late to start over. 
“It was tough, I’m not gonna lie. But I have a really good support system with my family, coaches, trainers and friends. They were all super supportive of the decision I made to transfer over to pitching and I’m glad I did it,” Lane said.
UConn baseball season will start in mid-February of 2027. 

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