Fan stretchered out of Tropicana Field after being struck in the face by a foul ball

A woman needed medical attention at Tropicana Field on Friday after she was struck by a foul ball. The ball struck the woman in the left eye according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The fan was conscious and talking in the stadium before being taken to the hospital, according to MLB.com.

The incident occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning when Steven Souza fouled off a line drive. The woman was reportedly sitting in the second row when she was struck. Souza went into the stands to check on the woman while she was being attended to by medical personnel. The game was delayed for 12 minutes while personnel tended to the woman and took her out of the stadium on a stretcher. She was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Souza described the situation as “totally unfortunate” and said he was concerned more about the woman’s health than he was the result of the game.

Fan safety on foul balls has been a common issue in MLB recently. So much so that the league recommended teams extend the protective netting around home plate. The Rays are among the team that extended their netting and the woman was sitting in an area that has netting in front, but the ball that struck her went through a gap between the previous netting and the extension.