Say it, don’t spray it.
A peeved firefighter unleashed “gallons of water” onto a Maryland baseball field after a ball struck his pick-up truck — bringing the collegiate game to an abrupt halt in the team’s first game back after a series of rain cancellations, officials said.
The Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts were forced to cancel their game due to a rainout Thursday night after the field at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring was flooded when a ball flew over the fence and landed at the neighboring fire station.
The irate Bravest blasted the field with a fire hose after the ball struck his personal car parked at Silver Spring Fire Station 16, coach Brock Hunter told Fox 5.
“There are nine other leagues who play here, and we’re not the only ones that hit home runs,” Dick O’Connor, founder and director of the Thunderbolts, told 7News.
“Personnel from the fire department have been told consistently by park staff that that is a dangerous area to park and leave your vehicle. I went and talk to the captain, and he admitted that he did it. And he said he wanted to get our attention.”
Stunned players were caught on wild footage watching as torrents of water rained down onto the diamond from over a nearby fence.
“One of our players heard someone from the firehouse say, ‘Hey, watch out. We don’t want you to get wet,’” Thunderbolts outfielder Aidan Driscoll told the outlet.
“Probably two minutes later, all we saw was [a massive stream of water] basically just shooting directly onto center field. I don’t think I will ever in my entire baseball career get a firetruck rainout again.”
Every game before the man-made flooding had been rained out, and the team was looking forward to finally playing, Driscoll added.
The game was initially delayed and shortened to seven innings amid the chaos, but was ultimately postponed to Friday for a matchup against the Olney Cropdusters, the team said on social media.
The collegiate summer team said the “gallons of water” created a “pond in the center” of the field.
The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service has since issued an apology for the bizarre incident and is working with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police to investigate what triggered the soaking.
“We want to express our sincere apologies to the players, teams, Cal Ripken League, and all fans and families impacted by this disruption,” the department said in a statement Friday.
“We understand how important this venue is to the community and especially to the young athletes who look forward to these events. While the fire station and ballfield have long shared this space as neighbors, we recognized that incidents like this can have a real impact — and we take that seriously.
The post Peeved firefighter floods baseball field with fire hose after ball hits his truck, ending game appeared first on New York Post.
