Luke's grandmother had given the family of three tickets to the game, and they were thrilled to get to Eastwood Field and see they were sitting on the front row just behind first base.
They settled into their seats and looked toward home plate, only to squint into the setting sun.
A few innings later, the sun was down and so was their guard. A friend took some pictures of their night out. Luke mugged it up for the camera then told his mom he was getting sleepy and wanted to go home.
A minute later, Ben Carlson stepped to the plate. He's a 6-foot-3, 230-pound first baseman, and all that size and strength laid into a pitch.
Nicole never saw the ball. Chad barely did, then he felt his son go limp in his lap.
Chad cradled him and ran to the concourse yelling for help. An ambulance was on site and whisked them all to the hospital. The blow had knocked part of Luke's skull toward his brain. The pressure was building and he was not stable.
Luke's condition has improved from critical to serious but stable. Doctors say he's in a "locked-in" condition, where he has some knowledge of what's going on and has limited response.
Most patients in that condition can only blink their eyes, but Luke is moving his arms and legs. The other day, he squeezed his mother's hand. One can only believe in miracles and hope for Luke to get well soon.
But one can only wonder that there are about 40 foul balls per game. That means the average major league team sends more than 3,000 baseballs into the stands every year.
Multiply that by 30 big-league teams, then 176 minor-league ones. Throw in batting practice and spring training, and you have millions of foul balls every year.
So of all the ballparks and line drives in the world, how did the dark stars align to single out a little 4-year-old boy?
For more information, check out Luke's page which his mother set up for constant updates on his health: www.helpluke.com
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