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UCLA's Herrera makes remarkable return from gruesome injury

It was the type of injury they have to warn viewers about before showing it on television and those who dare watch the grisly footage, immediately regret it.

Ashley Herrera's foot was literally facing the wrong way. The ankle was broken, dislocated, completely wrecked.

"I've seen a lot of things, and that was the worst thing I'd ever seen," said Kelly Inouye-Perez, her softball coach at UCLA. "I had nightmares about it afterwards."

Herrera's teammates were in tears in the dugout.

It was shocking, both its gnarly physical appearance and its devastating emotional impact.

The former Valencia High star had spent the past 12 months diligently working her way back from a torn ACL in her left knee. But she was back, and seemingly better than ever. She was faster and stronger.

She even seemed to hit better. In her first 29 at-bats, she had collected 17 hits, a .586 batting average.

But in one tentative, awkward slide into third base, all that was over. Her ankle was wrecked   Read Full Article...