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High school softball player recovering after hospitalized for heat exhaustion

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County high school softball player is recovering at home after she was taken to a hospital for heat exhaustion.

Kaliyah Parks, a junior at Morrow High School, was playing catcher against Mount Zion on Thursday night.

"When we first got out here, I told my coach that it's too hot to play and I gotta put on all that catching gear," Park said.

During the third inning, Parks began to feel dizzy from the heat.

"I was catching the ball, next thing you know, I threw my helmet on the ground and that's all I remember," she told Channel 2 Action News.

An ambulance rushed Parks to Piedmont Henry Hospital, where doctors confirmed she suffered from heat exhaustion.

Parks' father Greg Ponder said when he got to the hospital, his daughter was unconscious.

"Her eyes were open, but she wasn't responsive for nothing. At least three or four hours," Ponder said.

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Parks' treatment for heat exhaustion happened days after another Clayton County student died.

Imani Bell, 16, was an 11th-grader at Elite Scholar Academy who collapsed while doing running drills outside.

[RELATED: 'Why were they outside?' ask parents of teen who died after practice in extreme heat]

The extreme heat has caused concerned for many parents across metro Atlanta.

Samantha Miller's daughter is a freshman and plays on a local varsity team.

"In the morning, I make sure she hydrates and I tell her if she starts feeling woozy, let somebody know,' Miller said.

Ponder said his daughter is recovering at home, but with heat like this, he wants changes to be made.

"It seems like the game could've been moved from 5:30 to maybe 6:30 or seven o'clock. I just want to see a great awareness about this situation where another parent won't have to get the same phone call and deal with the grief," he said.