Talk about bravery and courage. Hopkins' softball player Megan Arndt certainly has both, and more. The Royals' 4-3, extra-inning victory over Bloomington Jefferson in the first round of the Richfield Tournament last Saturday might never have happened had Arndt not put her own personal well-being second to that of the team.

But rather than having me tell you, let's let Hopkins' captain Hayley Nybo describe Arndt's heroic play in her own words. Nybo wrote this and sent it to Hopkins coach Anne Campbell, who forwarded it to us:

"As most of you know, my fellow captain, Megan, was injured yesterday [Saturday] in our opening game in this weekend's tournament. We were down by one run late in our first game against Bloomington Jefferson. Jefferson attempted to pick Megan off at second but there was an overthrow. As Megan dove back to the base, the 2nd baseman had jumped to try to get the ball and came down and landed on Megan's fingers with her metal cleats. Megan laid there for a split second as the rest of us were screaming at her to get up and keep going. Little did we know that Megan's fingers were spitting blood everywhere as she laid there. Megan bravely pushed herself up and came around to score the tying run so that we could go into international tie-breaker. I cannot even begin to explain how proud of her I am and how brave she was to get up after she just endured a pretty horrific incident. Megan really showed everybody how much she cares for and loves our team. I couldn't be happier to be her co-captain and I very much admire the way that she handled the entire situation. I pray for a fast recovery for you Megan and I know that you"ll rock the splint at prom!"

According to Campbell, Arndt, the Royals' third baseman, was rushed to the hospital by her father after scoring the run. She had lost the fingernails on both the ring finger and pinkie of her right hand and the tips of both fingers were broken. However, Campbell said that Arndt's injury cannot get worse and that they are aiming for Hopkins' game at Edina on May 10 as the day of her return. "If she wants to be in the lineup on May 10, she'll be there," Campbell said. "What an incredible effort. She's a great kid."