Chaos erupted at a youth baseball game during a holiday weekend tournament in Kansas City after an Oklahoma coach allegedly instructed an 11-and-under pitcher to intentionally throw a 70mph fastball into the opposing team’s dugout. The incident occurred on Sunday during a United States Specialty Sports Association tournament game between teams from Oklahoma and Nebraska.
Allegations Surface on Social Media
Brandon Magni, a Nebraska coach, detailed the incident on his personal Facebook page, accusing Oklahoma coach Mychal Ryals of directing his pitcher to target an opposing batter before shifting the target to the dugout. “Today all of my boys learned a life lesson,” Magni wrote in a post seen by Fox News but which was no longer visible Tuesday evening. “While Easton was up to bat against Oklahoma Eleven, 11us coach- Mychal Ryals, told their pitcher to throw at Easton’s head. After Easton stepped out and told the umpire the coach said never mind throw it at their dugout instead. A 70mph fastball thrown into my dugout hitting one of my players.”
Video footage shows the baseball being thrown, but the allegation that the youth player was acting under direct orders from his coach has not been independently confirmed. USSSA has not independently confirmed the coaching allegations, but a parent reported that the organization has since handed down an indefinite suspension to the young player involved.
Coach’s Account and Response
According to Magni, the pitcher was ejected from the game but allowed to remain in the dugout, and Ryals was not removed from the tournament complex. Magni further alleged that when he requested a forfeit from tournament officials, he was told his team could forfeit instead or he could “call the police.”
“DO BETTER USSSA BASEBALL!!!!” Magni wrote. “At the end of the game we shook their hands and were the better men/boys. The boys learned you can’t control what others do to you but you can control what your response can be. Ours was to use this as fire & close out the game.”
Parent’s Perspective
Kaelin Zawilinski, the mother of a Nebraska player, also posted a video of the incident on Instagram with an on-screen caption that read: “This 11U player was told to throw this ball at our dugout as they cheered for their teammate. Thankfully no one was hurt but this is not ok!” In a caption accompanying the footage, Zawilinski wrote that the team had been cheering for a teammate during a tight game before the situation escalated.
“Baseball is a game of respect and this was not that,” Zawilinski wrote. “Our boys were cheering for their teammate, excited to be up in the tight game and this just took it to a new level of youth sports, I never thought I would see.” Zawilinski later updated her post to state that disciplinary action had reportedly been taken, adding that her team had received word that the coach was banned and the player suspended indefinitely.
“Youth sports have gone to a whole new level from when I was a kid but I just want my son to play a game he loves, with hopes to play on his high school team if that is his goal,” she wrote. “Baseball is a tough sport and we don’t need to add any extra elements like this into it!”
The Independent has contacted USSSA Baseball for comment.
