During Sunday night’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia, a 21-month-old girl was struck in the face by a Bryce Harper foul ball.
The girl’s mother, Angelica DiWilliams, told Eyewitness News that “in the bottom of the fifth inning, little Lily was hit on the right side of her head with a foul ball.”
Lily was immediately rushed to a local children’s hospital in an ambulance.
There is some good news, however.
While the doctors initially feared a skull fracture, the CT scan for Lily was clear. She was diagnosed with tissue swelling, but is progressing well.
Accidents like this are sadly unavoidable — especially with young children. Balls do get hit into the stands and while MLB has additional netting now, it obviously can’t stop everything. It’s very fortunate that Lily seems to have avoided serious injury. While not common, being struck by a baseball can be fatal.
According to DiWilliams, the Phillies have been asking for updates on Lily. They offered the family tickets to a game of their choosing and invited them on the field for batting practice.
That’s great. Hopefully Lily gets herself back to the ballpark sooner rather than later.