Coronavirus takes life of 17-year-old Granville baseball player

Matthew Kirby died late Thursday after spending nine days in intensive care. His father, Stephen Kirby, posted on Facebook that the coronavirus infection led to myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart.

"He had an incredible smile, and it was infectious," Roxann Markey said Monday.

Markey is chief operating officer of the Dirtbags Baseball Organization, a traveling team that Matthew Kirby played on for three years. He also played briefly for South Granville High School.

"Everybody loved the kid and loved what he brought to the field every day," Dirtbags General Manager Trey Daly said. "The kid was just a once-in-a-lifetime kid."

"Once you’re part of our organization, you're family. As soon as we heard [about his death], we were devastated," Markey said. "I reached out to all of his coaches. Everyone just wanted to do as much as they can to support the family."

"It just renewed my faith in our community that, when someone’s in need, people are going to step up and help," Markey said.

Stephen Kirby posted that he and his wife are also battling the virus. They will wait until they recover to plan a memorial for their son.

Information about whether Matthew Kirby or his parents were vaccinated wasn't available.

In addition to baseball, the teen was very involved with activities at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Creedmoor.

Markey said his death should be a wake-up call for everyone about the severity of the pandemic.

"It was crushing to me," she said, fighting back tears. "I have three children of my own, and so, when you hear that, you’re devastated for the family. You immediately put yourself in their position and how would you feel if you were in this scenario. ... This is getting really serious, and we want to make sure that everybody is taking it serious because, to lose a child, I mean, there’s nothing worse."

"I think, across-the-board in this pandemic, everybody is pulling on the same end of the rope because, when it hits home to a youngster, man, it really hits different," Daly said.