The Situation: With Northern Essex leading 8-3 in the top of the ninth inning–needing just three defensive outs to qualify for the NJCAA World Series next week–their batter took exception to a pitch that was near his head. He immediately began to scream at the pitcher while aggressively approaching him. Both dugouts emptied, and several punches were thrown. A couple players were struck in the face and it continued for at least 1 minute before the coaches and umpires were able to diffuse the situation and get the players in the dugout. In the below video, most of the damage had already occurred prior to the beginning of the footage.
The umpires are discussing whether to end the game after this bench clearing brawl pic.twitter.com/Kz8luR26We
aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 21, 2017
The Result: After roughly 15 minutes of meeting around home plate, the umpires came to the conclusion to end the game and it was decided that both teams would be disqualified from the NJCAA World Series. The representative of Region XV did not respond to our email for a response. It is unclear if there will be a representative in the World Series. If there is, it could potentially be Queensborough or Nassau CC.
Who’s At Fault: In an emotionally-charged game, it’s understandable that tensions are high and tempers are short. It is inexcusable, however, to charge the mound and for punches to be thrown. From the perspective of Northern Essex–who simply needed to protect a five-run lead with three outs to go, it is baffling and it will cost them a chance to win a National Championship.
