Caps Clobber Yuma - Players Brawl In Fourth
July 18, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Edmonton Capitals News Release
Edmonton, AB - Sunday was Christmas In July with the Edmonton Capitals at TELUS Field, but there's a good chance many of the players are now on Santa's naughty list thanks to a bench-clearing brawl in the fourth inning of the afternoon game against the Yuma Scorpions.
The Caps dominated the final game of the four-game series, winning easily 11-0 to take three out of the four contests. But it was the brawl that generated the most excitement on the day, leading to five players getting kicked out of the game, with the potential for disciplinary action from the Golden Baseball League.
The incident began when Caps second baseman Matt Rogelstad tagged his base for the third out of the inning, but Yuma baserunner Franklin Lopez slid hard at the Edmonton player's legs even though it wasn't a close play.
Rogelstad took exception to the slide and shoved Lopez, sending the entire Yuma roster onto the field almost immediately. The Caps quickly followed, as Scorpions back-up infielder Walter Correa took a swing at Rogelstad. Some additional scuffling took place before tempers cooled and the teams eventually separated.
"I stepped on second base for the out and was about two or three steps on my way back to the dugout and he came sliding through me," Rogelstad recalled. "We exchanged some words, and the next thing you know the benches are cleared. I never had the intention of that, though. I'm just out here to play baseball."
"It's one thing to play the game hard in the appropriate situation, but we had already made the third out and that's not a clean play in my mind. It got out of hand, but I was fortunate that my teammates had an eye out for me and nobody ended up getting hurt."
The umpires converged and assessed the situation for several minutes, eventually determining that Rogelstad, Lopez, Correa, Yuma pitcher Jose Rojas and Caps pitcher Evan White would all be ejected from the game.
Back to the actual game itself, the top of the Caps order was a wrecking crew on Sunday, scoring five of the 11 runs and driving in eight of them. Centre fielder and leadoff hitter Ryan Stevenson went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, while short stop Enrique Cruz went 2-for-5 with three RBI, and left fielder Larry Bigbie had another huge game with a home run and five RBI. The slugger has two homers and seven RBI in his last two games. On the mound, Caps starting pitcher Alexander Francisco tossed seven scoreless innings, scattering seven hits and striking out four to improve to 5-0.
The Tijuana Cimarrones come back to town for games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday's 7 p.m. start is another edition of Carpool Mondays, as any vehicle with four or more people inside it can park for free at the game.
The Capitals are Edmonton's first choice for professional baseball and family entertainment. Season seats start at less than $9 per game and are available pro-rated for the balance of the season. Individual game tickets are available for just $10 every game. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, the TELUS Field Box Office during regular business hours, by calling (780) 414-GOAL (4625) or online at capsbaseball.ca.
• Discuss this story on the Golden Baseball League message board...
Golden Baseball League Stories from July 18, 2010
- Caps Clobber Yuma - Players Brawl In Fourth - Edmonton Capitals
- Four Run Second Sweeps Series - Calgary Vipers
- Garry Templeton, Chico Outlaws in Town for Four Games - Orange County Flyers
- Tucson Shutout by Maui 6-0 Saturday - Tucson Toros
- Flyers Start Second Half with Win - Orange County Flyers
- McClain's two home runs give Seals 2-1 victory - Victoria Seals
- Caps Back To Their Winning Ways - Edmonton Capitals
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
