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UCA’s 5-4 win over UALR on Wednesday night wasn’t your normal midweek college baseball game. Mainly because the two were involved in a full blown bench clearing brawl.
The teams were tied in the 10th inning when UCA coach Allen Gum and UALR coach Scott Norwood exchanged words on the field in the 10th inning and that led to both benches clearing.
Seven total players and one UCA assistant coach have been suspended for the altercation. Four players for UALR were suspended while the Bears’ assistant Trent Kline was suspended for four games.
With one out and the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th, UALR’s Tanner Rockwell hit UCA freshman Carson Dowdle with a pitch. It was the fourth time a UCA batter was hit by a pitch in the game, and the second time Dowdle was plunked.
Sophomore Lee Raley pinch-ran for Dowdle. Raley stole second base but was called back to first base after it appeared that Montalvo’s swing interfered with UALR catcher Drew Merten.
Shortly after Raley returned to first base, UALR Coach Scott Norwood and UCA Coach Allen Gum began to argue near home plate. Video showed several players and coaches from both teams involved in the incident, as well as UCA personnel who tried to intervene.
Norwood, Gum and UALR pitcher Chad Bradford, who did not pitch Wednesday, were all ejected.
“It is an embarrassment to the university,” Norwood told media Thursday afternoon at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, shortly before UCA sent out its news release regarding the suspensions. “This type of behavior sets a bad example for student-athletes and fans, and I regret that this happened.”
UCA hosts Southeastern Louisiana today in Conway, and UALR faces Georgia State today at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock.
The Trojans are scheduled to host the Bears on April 23 in Little Rock.
Agencies/Canadajournal
