Rare Incident: Softball Player Inadvertently Flings Soil Higher Than Expected, Resulting in Catcher's Temporary Blindness
Man, trick-shot videos just ain't my cup of tea. It's some dude (or dudette) trying real hard to make a ping pong ball bounce off their dog's head, into a cup, all for a nine-hour cringe fest, only to celebrate like they just scored the winning goal in the World Cup. Eh, pass.
Now, the Dude Perfect crew making bank off their pool noodle antics, that I get. But the incident I saw in a college softball game, yeesh, it was way beyond anything a ping pong ball could do.
It was all down to an unintentional trick shot that you'd be hard-pressed to reproduce, even with a million tries. The game was between the Oregon Ducks and Mississippi in the Women's College World Series. Pitcher Lyndsey Grein bowled a 67mph pitch to Mackenzie Pickens, business as usual.
But, Catcher Emma Cox was in a jam, favoring her eye like a cat catching a fly (that it didn't want). It turned out a lump of dirt from Lyndsey's cleat had exploded skyward during her pitch, colliding with the ball mid-flight, scattering earthy shrapnel towards home plate, and smacking Emma's peepers like Randy Johnson to a pigeon[1][2][3].
Medical Kit, stat! God forbid, Emma wears contacts. Ever had a contact with dirt in it? Urgh, dreadful.
But, Emma showed some real guts, powering through without dashing off to a nearby lab to clean her eye in chemistry solution.
"Initially, I thought the dirt was from my glove that might've hit me," Emma said according to the Oregon athletics website. "And I was like, alright, whatever. Then the umpire was like, actually, it was a bug or the ball hit you in the face."
Well, the ump might've been clueless, but tapes don't lie. Here's hoping Emma's eye's feeling better soon.
One silver lining would've been that if that dirt had flown up into her eye during a regular day, at least the Ducks came out on top against Mississippi in extra innings[4].
In the chaos of the unexpected trick shot from the Women's College World Series game, the ball collided mid-flight with a piece of dirt, sending earthy shrapnel towards catcher Emma Cox and temporarily stealing her focus, much like a baseball hitting a pigeon[1][2][3]. Despite the sudden and unpleasant event, Emma demonstrated determination and sportsmanship, powering through the discomfort, similar to a pro athlete who plays through injury during a crucial sports event like the World Cup or a baseball match[4].
