El Camino’s baseball field shuttered after visiting player injured

“Watching it in full speed, it was scary,” El Camino first-year head coach Raul Callero said.

Details of the player’s injuries were not available at press time.

Washington head coach Tom Mora said the decision to end the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning was a mutual decision between the two teams. El Camino won the game 11-7.

“It was too traumatic for the kids,” Mora said.

The pole the player collided with is in front of the outfield fence that stretches from left-center to right-center. El Camino is notorious for having one of the shallowest center-field walls in the nation, so much so any ball that is hit over the fence in center field is considered a ground-rule double.

Because of the short porch, a higher screen was added to the field in approximately the late 1960s or early 1970s. Poles were placed in front of the existing outfield fence to support the taller screen. The poles are approximately one foot in diameter and are in the field of play.

Callero said the poles are not discussed as part of the pregame ground rules.

“If I knew that pole was in the field of play, I probably would have never played the game there,” Mora said. “Since I had never played there — I would never have agreed to these poles being in the field of play.”

The player was taken from the field by ambulance. Callero said the player was unconscious when the coaches arrived in right-center field just after the collision.

“When we got to him, he was breathing, but he was out,” Callero said. “He kind of came to when we were trying to help him on his side.”

A telephone call to El Camino principal James Briano was referred to South Francisco Unified School District press information officer Peter Feng.

Feng said the remaining six home games on El Camino’s schedule will not be played at the team’s home field. Tuesday’s scheduled home game against Terra Nova was played at Terra Nova, with El Camino playing as the home team on the scoreboard.

“I think in terms of playing any home games at El Camino this year, I think the decision has been made to relocate all of the Colts home games for the remainder of this season,” Feng said.

The outfield poles have been deemed a safety issue.

Feng said the SSFUSD superintendent Shawnterra Moore, along with the facilities department headed by facilities director Wazi Chowdhury, is in the process of assessing the field to make a determination regarding potential remedies for the safety concerns.

“This is kind of an unexpected situation that cropped up so everybody is caught a little off guard,” Feng said.

“We need time to make those investigations and those determinations,” he said.

El Camino’s baseball team is being allowed to practice on the field. Feng said SSFUSD is allowing the team to resume regular practices. El Camino co-athletic director Eric Jacobson said he and co-AD Jeff Cosico have instructed the team not to practice anything involving the outfield fence.

“Before we play another home game, we will make sure that field is safe,” Jacobson said.