Two of Marion's players and a coach were injured in an auto accident returning home to Madisonville after practice Thursday night. Pitcher Jared Long will likely miss at least half the season due to a broken collarbone and potential other injuries, while the driver, Coach Perry Utley, and son, pithcer Ethan Utley, were banged up in a two-vehicle collision about three miles west of Richland in Hopkins County. Coach Utley's youngest son, Dalton, 13, was also shaken up in the accident.
All three occupants in the second vehicle, which Kentucky State Police report pulled into the path of Utley's vehicle, were also injured. All seven people involved in the crash were taken to Regional Medical Center in Madisonville for treatment.
Long, schedule to start Saturday's game at Tradewater, will join Ethan Utley on injured reserve. Utley is still recovering from a broken hand suffered during his college season. Meantime, Perry Utley is expected to be in the dugout for tonight's game in Dawson Springs. The game, as well as the remaining two games in the three-game set, start at 7 p.m., at Riverside Park.
For updates, visit MarionBobcats.com.
