During a baseball game on March 29 between Scottsdale Community College and Yavapai College, a scuffle broke out near first base. That isn’t all that unusual in a game, but what Yavapai College left fielder Austin O’Such did certainly was. Monday officials at Yavapai College are reporting that O’Such will no longer be playing baseball for them as a result.
In the video on the left-hand side of the page, you can see the bench-clearing battle begin, but keep your eye on second base. At the 21-second mark, O’Such comes barreling across the field and flattens the SCC player, Jake Bamrick, who was completely blindsided by the tackle. Monday the Yavapai College officials share that Austin O’Such has been suspended from the team and has left campus. The athletic director says that O’Such “was immediately suspended by the college and will be suspended from play for the rest of the season.”
AZ Central reports that O’Such was one of the best players on his team this year, but now his season is done. Yavapai Athletic Director Scott Farnsworth said that O’Such has been suspended for the rest of the season and while he would be eligible to play next year, it won’t be at Yavapai. O’Such hasn’t been suspended from classes, but he has left the campus on his own. AZ Central says they reached out to SCC, but they declined comment and want to simply move forward. The school makes no mention of the incident on their website, simply noting they won the game that day 10-8.
Bamrick stayed down and unmoving for the rest of the video available on the left-hand side of the page, but ABC 15 shares that he was able to get back on his feet moments later. While O’Such has essentially disappeared from social media sites, Bamrick appears to be active, though private, on Facebook at this time. There have been no criminal charges filed against O’Such at this point.
Had you already watched the video? Do you think the consequences for O’Such have been sufficient?
