Caught on tape: Dayton baseball brawl clears benches

DAYTON, OH -- A major brawl at Thursday night's Dayton, Ohio Dragons game sent one fan to the hospital, and a pitcher to jail.

It began in the first inning with an argument between Dragons manager Donnie Scott and acting Peoria manager Carmelo Martinez.

Both benches cleared when Chiefs pitcher Julio Castillo fired a baseball toward the Dragons dugout. The ball missed the dugout, and hit a fan sitting in the stands.

It took several Dayton police officers to calm the melee, which lasted about ten minutes. Castillo was arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail. He faces a felonious assault charge.

Baseball fan John Isenbarger said, "This is the most insane baseball game I've ever been to. It was complete chaos."

Rob Taulbee, a Dragons season ticket holder said, "You don't see this kind of thing happen every time you come to the ball park."

Officials said the injured fan was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, but will be okay.

After the umpires conferred, 15 players and both managers were thrown out of the game.

The ejections were later reversed by Midwest League President George Spelius.

The reversal came when both teams and their major league parent clubs expressed concern with having to place pitchers in the outfield to fill out their lineup.

Reds General Manager Walt Jocketty and Terry Reynolds, director of player development for the Chiefs, were in the stands and spoke by telephone to Spelius.

Spelius will likely re-invoke the ejections and any suspensions at a later date.

Jocketty declined comment when asked about the brawl by 2News after the game.

Dragons General Manager Gary Mayse issued the following statement Thursday night:

Tonight's on-field incident between the field staffs of the Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs was unfortunate and we sincerely wish that it would have not happened. We are confident that the footage of tonight's incident will be reviewed by Midwest League President George Spelius and appropriate actions will be taken.

After an hour and nine minute delay, the Dragons went on to defeat the Chiefs 6-5.