A San Benito County sheriff’s deputy who was at a baseball game
between San Benito and Gilroy high schools Thursday went onto the
field in the first inning after parents from both teams began
jarring with one another in the stands.
A San Benito County sheriff’s deputy who was at a baseball game between San Benito and Gilroy high schools Thursday went onto the field in the first inning after parents from both teams began jarring with one another in the stands.
The sheriff’s deputy ordered the fans to remain courteous and appropriate, or else he would eject all of the spectators from the bleachers.
The unusual episode came after a controversial play at the plate in the top half of the first inning after which a player and fan both were ejected.
Following Neal Dinsmore’s opposite-field flare to right that scored Eric Vegas from third base, Gilroy’s Bubu Garcia tried to sprint home from second but was called out on a bang-bang play at the plate.
Garcia’s hard slide into catcher Spencer Brann may have resulted in a dislocated ankle to the Gilroy sophomore, though, who popped up from the slide and delivered an elbow to Brann’s shoulder. Brann pushed back and was promptly ejected from the game.
Garcia would be later toted off the field via ambulance. The game was postponed for about 35 minutes as a result.
Additional sheriff’s deputies showed up to the field following the incident.
The brief altercation resulted in jarring in the stands among fans, in which several spectators were ejected, as well as chippy play on the field for the remainder of the game, including a warning to both benches in the sixth inning.
It was an otherwise bizarre start to a rivalry game that had another last-inning finish.
Gilroy led 7-0 entering the fourth inning before San Benito began to chip away at the Mustangs’ lead. It was a back-and-forth game when the Balers posted a seven-spot in the sixth inning to knot the game at 13-all, changing the momentum of the contest. And after Gilroy went down in order in the top of the seventh, San Benito’s Kyle Prewett connected on a walk-off RBI single up the middle, giving the Balers a 14-13 victory.
To read more about the game, check out our story in the sports section.
