Lightning Doesn’t Stop Pitcher

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A lightning strike that knocked out the scoreboard sent Arkansas pitcher Ryan Whitaker to a hospital for 45 minutes, but didn’t keep him from winning.

Arkansas’ players were rolling a tarp off the field during the bottom of the first inning against Georgia when lightning hit the scoreboard. The blast knocked Whitaker to the ground, and he was taken to a hospital as a precaution. But he returned in time to pitch a scoreless ninth and 10th innings in Arkansas’ 5-4 victory.

“It came up through my spikes in my right leg and I went down,” Whitaker said. “I took my spikes off, but I couldn’t put any pressure on my leg at all, and that’s what scared me. I wasn’t out, but I wasn’t all here, either.”