Extra Inning Softball Photo of the Week: Catcher Taylor Davison’s Bloodied but Not About to Come Out!

There’s tough… and then there’s catcher tough.

Is there any doubt that the position on the field that takes the most pounding is the backstop who, behind the plate practically every game, gets dirty and dinged but does it for the team?

Physically, it’s a demanding job getting deflected or bounced balls off every part of the body, having to squat each play while wearing gear and a mask that can become unbearable hot.

And, as shown in our Photo of the Week, a catcher can be bloodied and still insist in remaining in the game!

In a June 12^th game during the Top Gun Super Select Invitational in Kansas City, Class of 2023 catcher Taylor Davison of the Wasco Diamonds collided with first baseman Abby Arend while both were pursuing a fly ball in foul territory.

Abby got the job done and came away with the ball for the out, but not before grinding and smashing Taylor on the way down with her arms and then glove. 

Taylor, ranked as the #52 catcher in the Class of 2023 Position Rankings, took the hard shots but remained in the game to catch for the final out of the inning as captured in the photo by team photographer Megan Bockenhauer.

She remembers looking at the faces of the coaches and her teammates and seeing their reactions.

“I knew something was wrong once I went to go look for the pitch call from my head coach and saw his face along with everyone in the infield!” Taylor told Extra Inning Softball this week.

She admitted that she felt some after-effects of running into her first baseman.

“After the collision I felt a little rattled, but I just wanted to keep going and during the next pitch I realized I might have a bloody nose. I didn’t expect it to be that bad or look like that. My coach asked if I was OK and I said, ‘Yeah I just want to keep playing!’”

Here’s a look at the collision in a sequence of photos taken by Megan:

Bloodied but none the worse for wear, the talented incoming sophomore had a great summer and will be moving up to 16U this year. And she showed that it’s going to be hard to keep her off the field.

“I’m glad I stayed in the game and just kept going,” Taylor concluded. “It makes me realize that I can still stay focused even after something like that.”

If you have a great shot and would like to submit for Photo of the Week consideration, email to [email protected] and give as much detail about the pic as possible: who’s in it, where was it taken, was the going on in the photo, etc.!