A baseball player was left in floods of tears after he hit a four-year-old girl in the face with a foul ball.
Chicago Cubs batter Albert Almora Jr. threw his hands in the air and fell to his knees after seeing his line-drive fly into the first few rows of the stand, as the ball collided with a young spectator in the crowd.
According to reports in US media, the ball was travelling at a minimum speed of 90mph when it hit the girl.
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The Cubs were up against the Houston Dynamos on Wednesday night (29 May) when the unfortunate incident happened.
Teammates raced to console the player, leading him off the pitch and into the dugout where he was visibly distressed and shaken by what had just happened.
Speaking to media after the game, he said it is something that will stay with him for the rest of his life and that his prayers are with the young girl and her family.
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The 25-year-old said: "It's just the way life is. As soon as I hit it, the first person I locked eyes on was her, so God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life.
"But it's just prayers right now and that's all that I can control.
"I'm speechless, I'm at a loss of words. Being a father of two boys, I wanna put a net around the whole stadium but... I don't know, I'm sorry.
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He added: "It puts life into perspective. We get upset, don't hit, make errors. I was upset I didn't make that play and life just kind of, you know, puts things in perspective."
David LeVasseur caught the ball that hit the young girl, who he said was sitting in row seven or eight. He told local press there were no signs of blood on either the ball or seat.
Speaking to Houston Chronicle, he said: "He rips a line drive down the third-base line and it comes in and it looks like it hits someone hard.
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"It bounces, comes down and hits the guy to my left off (a) ricochet and the next thing you know it's at my feet. I pick it up and all we heard was screaming."
A statement released by Houston Astros said the girl had been taken to hospital for treatment.
It read: "The young fan that was struck by a foul ball during tonight's game was taken to the hospital.
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"We are not able to disclose any further details at this time. The Astros send our thoughts and prayers to the entire family."
According to ESPN, Cubs head coach Joe Maddon told Almora that it wasn't his fault.
He said: "I just wanted him to understand, 'This is not under your control. There's nothing you could've done about that differently, so please don't blame yourself.'"
Get well soon.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: SPORT, US News, US Entertainment
