“I just remember getting hit,” says Reyna Carranco, speaking for the first time after getting hit by a pitch in the face by Washington pitcher Taran Alvelo 2 weeks ago. “I didn't think that it hit me like that…I just remember seeing the blood so I was like oh something’s wrong.”
Something was definitely wrong. Carranco suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and a facial fracture in that game two weeks ago. “It was like more pressure. Like pressure on my nose.” But she didn't require any surgery.
Insult to injury, the Wildcats were swept that weekend, by the number one team in the country. And Carranco said she didn't realize the severity of her injuries until she got to the hospital.
She missed a week of games to recover, a home series against Cal. And returned against Oregon. A decision head coach Mike Candrea left up to her. “I asked her, Reyna are you ready? And I’m not going to push you. But I want you to be the one to tell me you're ready to play and she says I’m ready to play."
A potent bat in the lineup, but a flatliner in the field, as coach Candrea calls her. Thanks to her lack of emotion. “I’m really excited to get back because I loved watched them on the field but I was like I wish I could be out there,” said Reyna, after watching her team sweep Cal.
And with the cats back at Hillenbrand Stadium this weekend, they're ready to get back to their winning ways, with Reyna in the lineup.
Arizona will host 4th ranked UCLA this weekend.
