A college baseball game between SEC rivals quickly turned frightening after a home plate umpire was knocked down by a vicious foul ball and left lying motionless on the field.
The incident happened during a matchup between Alabama and Vanderbilt in Tuscaloosa, when Alabama’s Brennan Holt fouled off a pitch from Vanderbilt pitcher Brennan Seiber in the second inning.
The ball shot straight back and slammed into the facemask of home plate umpire Scott Kennedy.
The impact was immediate and alarming.
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Umpire fell to the ground after taking a foul ball to the face mask and eventually walked off on his own power pic.twitter.com/TknuykmI7m
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Kennedy staggered for a moment before collapsing backward onto the ground as his mask flew off. He remained motionless for several minutes, prompting both teams’ trainers and medical staff to rush onto the field.
Play was halted as medical personnel attended to him behind home plate, with players and fans watching in silence during the tense moment.
After several minutes, Kennedy was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power, bringing some relief to everyone in attendance.
Second base umpire Anthony Perez stepped in to take over behind the plate for the remainder of the game.
The delay lasted about 15 minutes before play resumed.
After the game, Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said the initial reports were encouraging.
“First and foremost, you’re just hoping Scott’s OK,” Vaughn said. “I think he’s doing better.”