Crisp County High School junior Braiden Rouse was pitching in a game earlier this season when he began experiencing a severe headache. That was on March 8 in a non-regional contest against Irwin County.
“I could barely see,” Rouse said.
Crisp County head baseball coach Kyle Kirk said he could tell even before that day that something was not right with his top starter.
“I could tell something was off with Brandon,” Kirk said. “He was trying as hard as he always does, but he came to me and said he was having really bad stomach pains.”
Rouse went to the local hospital to get checked out, and when the doctor pressed on his stomach, he said it was almost too painful to bear.
“I just about jumped out of the hospital bed,” Rouse said. “It hurt so bad.”
That led to follow-up visits with a gastroenterologist in Macon, Georgia, who ran several tests and came up with a diagnosis: Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease causes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract and can lead to severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss, all of which can lead to malnutrition. Rouse was checking all of those boxes.
“I stopped eating because I felt like that would just make it worse,” Rouse said.
Following the diagnosis, Rouse was admitted to Atrium Health Levine Children’s in Macon for an intestinal scope to determine the severity of the disease. It didn’t take doctors long to find out just how bad things were. The inflammation was so bad that doctors were not able to guide the scope through his small intestine.
Rouse received infusion therapy, which alleviates inflammation and other symptoms of Crohn’s disease.
Kirk said Rouse was able to rejoin the team, and the Cougars pitcher went out and pitched masterfully against Dougherty in a key region matchup on March 15.
“He threw a shutout, and we won 7-0,” Kirk said.
But Kirk knew his player pretty well, and even though Rouse was pitching great, he was not feeling that great.
“I could see that he was having to tough it out,” Kirk said. “He was really having to work through the pain.”
That led to yet another trip to the hospital and another round of infusion therapy. This time, however, doctors realized that it would take more to control the recurring swelling and pain.
Rouse will now undergo surgery to remove a 10-centimeter portion of his intestines. That will hopefully give the Crisp County 11th-grader the ability to return to a normal life and the game he loves.
“Braiden was on the JV team in my first year here at Crisp, and you could see how good a pitcher he was, so we moved him to the varsity right away,” Kirk said. “He’s our best strike-thrower.”
In his first season, Rouse finished with a 3-2 overall record with a 2.83 ERA in 37 innings pitched. He had a .233 batting average.
Last season he improved to a six-win season with just three losses and a 2.60 ERA in 43 innings pitched. He hit .248 with a homerun.
This season, despite struggling through Crohn’s disease, Rouse finished with a 3-3 record with a 5.6 ERA in 21 innings pitched. At the plate he hit .245.
Kirk said Rouse was able to play at a high level despite struggling through a debilitating disease.
“He is always playing at game speed,” Kirk said. “You don’t have to coach his effort.”
But it’s time now to shut it down, the coach said.
“Braiden’s season is done,” Kirk said. “He has a feeding tube that he has to refill every five hours just to keep nutrients in his body.”
Kirk has encouraged Rouse to attend practice and games whenever he can, making sure he knows his teammates have his back.
Hopefully, he can make a full recovery and come back strong for his senior season and maybe beyond. Rouse knows he will have to work hard to get back, but he is ready for the challenge.
“One of my goals is to go on to play college baseball,” Rouse said. “But I know I’ve had a lot of setbacks, and I have a long way to go. But I’m just going to keep working and trusting the process.”
Rouse’s parents are Ryan and Dawn Rouse of Cordele, Georgia.
Crisp County is 14-10 overall and sits atop the Region 1-3A standings with an undefeated 6-0 region record with a week remaining in the regular season.
