A little league baseball game in New Jersey was interrupted when a tree dangerously fell atop the batting team's dugout.
According to the NY Post, a group of 10 and 11 year-olds were nearly crushed when a tree came crashing on top of their dugout. Thankfully, no children were hurt, but the scare was plenty enough to pause the game's action.
The two teams battling it out on the diamond were the Fair Haven Diamonds and the Middletown Hammers. It was the Diamonds who were up to bat when the tree fell on their dugout. Obviously, with the Diamonds being on offense at the time, their dugout was chalk full of young athletes. Once the tree came down, the children were quick to rush out of the danger zone, and toward safety, albeit rambunctiously.
Notably, the entire scene was captured on video from the crowd. When watching back, the Middletown coach Garrett Van Alstyne called the scene "eerie." He continued on to note that nobody was paying any attention, as breaking noises foreshadowed the tree's fall in the moments prior.
Tree Branch Falls On Little League Dugout
Importantly, no children were badly injured when the tree fell. According to Lt. Stephen Schneider of Fair Haven Police, the only bumps or bruises came by way of small abrasions to the tops of a few heads. Those children were then checked out by on-scene first aid, as well as patrols. It was quickly determined that the children were well enough to be sent home with their parents.
The story is one that ends with a sigh of relief. The outcome could have been much worse, and luckily, it was not. Moreover, the story acts almost as a warning to ground's crews around the country. Countless little league baseball fields spread across the country have trees planted right behind them. In most cases, the shade those trees provide is welcomed by all who suffer through hot summer baseball games. But recently in New Jersey, that tree's location almost became less of a blessing, and more of a curse.
