Carter Rutenbar injury update | Arkansas baseball freshman avoids concussion
· Yahoo Sports
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas baseball Carter Rutenbar needed multiple towels to clean up a bloody mess after the freshman took a grounder off the nose in the top of the second inning against Oklahoma on Friday, May 8.
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Rutenbar exited the game and entered the concussion protocol. After the game, Razorbacks head coach Dave Van Horn said that Rutenbar did not have a concussion and was cleared to return, but his status for the remainder of the series is still to be determined.
"They're gonna look at his nose again," Van Horn said. "I'm not gonna say it's broken, but it could be."
Arkansas (33-17, 14-11 SEC) cruised to a 12-2 victory over the Sooners (30-17, 12-13). Rutenbar's replacement, Alexander Peck, hit the first home run of his career as the Hogs blasted five round-trippers on the afternoon.
Rutenbar has been struggling in recent weeks, but he is in the midst of a strong debut campaign. He's hitting .306 with 26 runs and 15 RBIs. The lefty hitter is third on the team with a .432 on-base percentage and has spent time playing both corner outfield spots along with first base.
According to Van Horn, Rutenbar was eager to return to the game.
"(Rutenbar) stood in the tunnel with his helmet on basically the whole game right there. Like, 'hey, I'm right here. You see me. I want to go hit,'" Van Horn said.
Rutenbar's antics were no surprise to his teammates.
"Extremely tough kid. Played football in high school. He's a really good baseball player, and he's just a tough kid," Camden Kozeal said. "I think when they were stuffing stuff up his nose, and then he spit him blood out, I think he wanted to stay out there if they would let him."
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas baseball's Carter Rutenbar leaves Oklahoma game with nose injury