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A scary moment happened in the eighth inning of Friday’s Arizona-Washington game when UA second baseman Reyna Carranco was struck in the face by a pitch from UW’s Taran Alvelo.
Carranco immediately fell to the ground and remained there until she walked off the field with the help of team trainers.
A scary moment for #ArizonaWildcats So. #ReynaCarranco tonight in 2-1 loss to #UWHuskies. Carranco walked off the field with the assistance of a team trainer. #NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/LyMcvjEpV6
— David Kelly (@DavidKellyTNN) March 24, 2018
Carranco was removed from the game and taken to a local Seattle hospital for examination, and has been diagnosed with a concussion and facial injury, the UA announced Saturday.
The good news is she has rejoined the team and will be re-examined by team doctors when Arizona returns to Tucson after its three-game series against the top-ranked Huskies.
The situation could have been much, much worse if Carranco’s helmet didn’t have a mask. Alvelo’s pitch got wedged between it.
If you want to know why #NCAASoftball players wear masks on their helmets. This is IT! Wow. #ReynaCarranco took a rise ball that stuck in helmet mask. Photo: @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/P1CHY1rjd1
— David Kelly (@DavidKellyTNN) March 24, 2018
Masked helmets are optional in college softball, but are starting to become a requirement in high school. Now you know why.
Arizona and Washington re-take the field Saturday at 3:30 p.m. PT for the second game of the series. Washington won Friday’s game 2-1 in extra innings.
Carranco, who hits second in the batting order, is hitting .386 this season with two homers, eight doubles, and 21 RBIs.