ECU baseball player appears in game with prosthetic leg after boating accident

East Carolina sophomore Parker Byrd appeared in Friday’s season-opening win against Rider with a prosthetic leg after having part of his right leg amputated following a 2022 boating accident. The school said he is the first NCAA Division I athlete to play in a game with a prosthetic leg, with athletics spokesman Malcolm Gray saying the Byrd family researched for any other examples. NCAA spokesman Greg Johnson said the organization doesn’t track that type of record. Byrd took a first-pitch strike and then drew four straight balls to reach base before being pulled for a pinch runner.