The venerable park turned into Alex "Tinder" Box Stadium
By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
jschiefelbein@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter
The ninth inning of the first game between LSU and the University of Louisiana had three ejections, with the repercussions spilling over to the second game. And all that happened after the two teams converged for a shouting match near home plate after an LSU home run in the seventh inning.
UL coach Tony Robichaux and relief pitcher Donnie Bair and LSU shortstop Aaron Hill were all ejected in the ninth.
Robichaux, who declined comment after the game, and Hill were suspended for the second game, with LSU winning the NCAA Regional championship 12-2. Bair, a junior, is out four games, a suspension which carries over to next season's first three games.
Assistant coach Wade Simoneaux took control of the Cajuns for the second game, while Rocky Scelfo made his sixth start at shortstop.
Matt Heath's two-run homer over the center-field fence in the seventh inning began the brouhaha Sunday.
As Heath rounded the bases, he stared down the UL dugout. That brought the Cajuns to the edge of their dugout in force, with Tigers already out at home plate to celebrate with Heath.
"I didn't say a word to them," Heath said. "I just looked at them. They were trash-talking to us, so I wanted to send a message that we were for real. I just looked into their eyes.
"They saw we weren't here just to whip them, we were here to show them this was our house."
Umpires kept the two teams at bay and issued warnings to both coaches.
Robichaux, who argued with home-plate umpire Randy Wetzel at that point, said on his postgame radio interview he lobbied for Heath's ejection.
"We were well aware before game one started if anything happened, there'd be suspensions," Simoneaux said.
"He fronted our dugout. It's hard to accept when somebody fronts your dugout and looks at your dugout from third base to home plate. And we're not going to let that happen."
When Heath came up to bat in the ninth, Bair plunked him with the first pitch and was immediately ejected.
Before Bair threw the pitch that hit Heath, most of the seated Cajuns players had worked their way to the top step of the dugout.
"Too bad, that didn't even hurt me," said Heath, who said the ball hit his belt buckle. "I figured it was coming."
Six batters later, Hill, batting from in the left batter's box, swung wildly at the first pitch, with the bat sailing over his head into the Louisiana dugout. Hill was ejected as Wetzel ruled he intentionally flung the bat in an act construed as fighting in the NCAA baseball rulebook.
A statement about the incidents from umpire crew chief Ken Eldridge said:
"After the home run by the LSU player (Matt Heath), when he looked into the Lafayette dugout and both benches emptied, a warning was issued to both coaches about throwing at people, which is covered in rule 5-16-d-(1). When (Heath) came back up to hit, he was hit, and because of the prior warnings by Randy Wetzel, the plate umpire, the pitcher (Donnie Bair) was ejected and coach Robichaux was ejected.
"The suspension that comes with the pitcher being ejected after the warnings is for four games. The suspension of Coach Robichaux after the warnings came is one game. The suspension of the player who threw the bat in the dugout (Aaron Hill) is covered under the fight rule, which is 5-16-a, which says any kind of abuse, which is equipment or anything else, is construed as fighting, and his suspension is for one game. It was ruled in Randy Wetzel's judgment that it was intentional."
Rule 5-16-a defines fighting as "any physical abuse of an opposing player, including attempting to strike with the arms, hands, legs, feet or equipment in a combative manner, or intentionally spitting at an opponent."
Hill said the bat slipped out of his gloves, which were soaked with sweat(water).
"(The umpire) said, 'Sorry, but I had to do it."' Hill said. "I said, 'Sir, feel my gloves.' They were soaked. But it turned out all right."
The umpires and tournament officials took steps to control the second game.
When Heath hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning of the second game, first-base umpire Robert Hefner dashed along the first-base line and pointed to the LSU dugout, making sure the Tigers did not come out to celebrate.
"We were told no one could put their foot on the top steps, nobody could leave the dugout at all or they'd be thrown out of the game without any questions asked," Simoneaux said.
Tensions had been brewing since Thursday when all four regional teams practiced. LSU players said UL pitcher Justin Gabriel bumped into Wally Pontiff outside the batting cages. Gabriel was unavailable for comment.
"Gabriel came in and bumped into me," Pontiff said. "I can't use the expletives he did. He told me I was going to get mine. I didn't take it too lightly."
That dispute bubbled over in the first inning Saturday when Pontiff got plunked by a pitch with two outs and a 2-1 count. Pontiff stepped toward the mound and pitcher Andy Gros and made some comments. That exchange brought UL players out of their dugout onto the apron, with Wetzel, then the first-base umpire, warning the Cajuns to step back.
Robichaux came out of the dugout to discuss the situation with Eldridge, then the home-plate umpire. After the game, when asked about the situation by the media, Robichaux brushed it off as the intensity of the moment and did not discuss any particulars.
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