Playoff baseball game stopped after pole-vault mat injures fans
When Kellam (Va.) High School and Salem (Va.) High School took the field for Tuesday's Beach District baseball semifinal game, all of the players knew what was on the line -- a chance to advance to the Beach District championship game.
But by the second inning, the only thing that was on the minds of the players was the well-being of the spectators at the game. As the Virginia Pilot reported, a massive storm tore through the Virginia Beach area, knocking down power lines and delaying, or canceling, sporting events in the area.
While the Landstown High School field, where the two teams were playing, was still playable after the storms passed, the game ended up being stopped after a pole-vault mat and debris hit and injured five spectators -- including parents and grandparents of players -- while they were walking from the field to the parking lot.
Within minutes, ambulances and police cars were on the scene to rush the five injured spectators to the hospital. There has been no word yet on the severity of the injuries.
"I've got a lot of upset kids," Salem coach Pete Zell told the Virginia Pilot. "I've got kids going to the hospital to check on their family. There are more important things than a baseball game."
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The two teams agreed to resume the game, which was scoreless in the second inning, on Wednesday. It goes without saying that while the players will be concentrating when they're on the field, in the back of their minds they'll be thinking about the accident on Tuesday night.
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