The reaction of Arizona softball to a scary incident on the field has earned the team the Pac-12 Sportsmanship Award from the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Advisory Council. The conference’s student-athlete representatives recognized the program for its reactions in the aftermath of an injury to Oregon centerfielder Hanna Delgado on Apr. 12 at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
The final conference series between the two teams before they depart for new leagues was overshadowed by a play that stunned everyone in attendance. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Arizona shortstop Tayler Biehl hit a ball hard towards the right-center gap. Delgado ran for it and made a desperate dive to try to record the out and keep her team in a game that was 6-2 in favor of the Wildcats at the time. A split second later, she went headfirst into the wall and didn’t get up.
Trainers for both teams rushed to the outfield where Delgado lay surrounded by some of her teammates. As the medical personnel assessed the situation and immobilized her on a spine board, the players from both teams gathered near the Oregon dugout in a circle to support each other and pray.
The following day, Arizona agreed to postpone the game three hours in order to give Oregon players time to process the events of the night before. The Wildcat players and coaches left flowers and letters of support in the Ducks’ dugout.
“Softball is family,” Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe said in the school’s press release. “This conference is a family. When Hanna’s injury occurred, our entire focus was getting her the immediate medical attention she needed, and then doing anything we could to support Oregon in that moment. I am very grateful and proud of our medical team for their quick response and handling of the situation, and to all those at Banner Health for taking care of her. It was great to see both teams come together in a moment that was bigger than the game. Hanna, her family, and the entire Oregon softball program remains in our thoughts during her recovery.”
Delgado underwent successful surgery at Banner UMC to fuse her C5 and C6 vertebrae. She had cracked her C5 in two places and dislocated her C6 in the collision with the wall according to the Eugene Register-Guard. She was back with her team in the dugout a week later and was able to take part in senior day festivities last weekend.
Several individual Wildcats have been honored with the Pac-12 Sportsmanship Award in the past, but this is the first time an entire Arizona team has earned the recognition. Individuals who have been honored at UA include swimmer Sarah Shimomura (2018), football player Bryson Beirne (2012), gymnast Katie Matusik (2011), swimmer Lindsey Kelly (2009), and men’s basketball player Channing Frye (2005).
The award is meant to recognize good sportsmanship and ethical behavior in competition and good citizenship outside of competition.