A Texas junior college baseball player who tackled an opposing player as he trotted the bases after hitting a home run has been booted from his team.
On Wednesday, Weatherford College pitcher Owen Woodward tackled Josh Phillips of North Central Texas College as the player rounded third base, clearing the benches and forcing umpires to suspend the game, which was later recorded as a forfeit.
In a game between NCTC & Weatherford,
Josh Phillips hits a go ahead home run and the weatherford pitcher LEVELS him while he’s rounding the bases…
Only in Texas folks pic.twitter.com/Bb5lpQ4t34
— Texas College Baseball (@TexasCollegeBSB) April 20, 2022
A day later, the Northern Texas College Athletic Association suspended Owens for four games and Phillips, who was penalized for taunting, for two. Several other players and coaches from both teams who ran onto the field drew two-game suspensions, according to CBS Sports.
Then Weatherford College took it a step further, saying Owens is “no longer with the team.”
“WC Head Baseball Coach Jeff Lightfoot said the player is no longer with the team,” Weatherford College Athletics posted to Twitter. “The Weatherford College Student Services handed down additional discipline to the student, but because of college policy and federal regulations protecting student privacy, WC will not be releasing the details of any other discipline.”
Earlier, Lightfoot had said the team was “shocked and disappointed” at Owens display.
“We do not condone this type of behavior,” he said. “We have worked hard to build a program with the highest of standards. We are completely embarrassed by this incident, and we apologize to North Central Texas College and the fans of WC baseball. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated.”
NCTC released a statement, thanking the Weatherford administration for its “integrity” in handling the situation.
“North Central Texas College supports its student athletes and the various athletic programs available at the College,” NCTC Chancellor Brent Wallace said. “NCTC expects our student athletes to exhibit the highest levels of sportsmanship both on and off the field. The unfortunate events at Weatherford College will be used as a teaching moment for our student athletes to help ensure these incidents do not occur in the future. We appreciate the integrity of the Weatherford Administration in communicating with NCTC and will be working in conjunction with them to determine the full extent of this event.”
The incident happened in the first game of a four-game series, with games two and three being ruled a forfeit for NCTC due to the team not being able to field enough players.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].