Matt Reigle
Videos by OutKick
A college baseball player in central Pennsylvania has died after a dugout at a youth baseball field collapsed on him.
According to TMZ, Angel Mercado-Ocasio, a freshman infielder for the Central Penn College Knights, died in the incident.
City of Harrisburg spokesman Matt Maisel said the 19-year-old was disassembling a dugout that had been illegally built at the field. However, while he was attempting to do this, part of the structure collapsed on top of him.
Mercado-Ocasio was rushed to the hospital following the incident. Tragically, the Cumberland County coroner pronounced him dead late Tuesday night.
According to Tom Lehman, a reporter at Lancaster, Pennsylvania TV station WGAL, Mercado-Ocasio died due to a head injury.
The local youth coach, Gerardo Diaz, who Mercado-Ocasio had been helping at the time of his death, remembered him as “bright and funny.”
Mercado-Ocasio was among the players helping Gerardo Diaz, known as “Coach Cuba,” disassemble a dugout Diaz had built at the 7th and Radnor baseball field without permission from the city.
— Tom Lehman (@TomLehmanWGAL) May 24, 2023
Diaz said he accepted responsibility for what happened and is gutted about the accident. pic.twitter.com/9XnLCbj4X3
“He just got into university,” Diaz said. “He just went to university this year. You don’t know how bright and funny — he was it.”
“Our Central Penn College family is devastated by the loss of Angel,” Central Penn College President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams said in a statement. “As friends who have become family, we are mourning the heart-wrenching loss of one of our own, a promising young athlete who senselessly lost his life while helping others enjoy the sport he loved so much.”
According to the Central Penn College athletics site, Mercado-Ocasio hailed from Harrisburg and played second base and shortstop.
Everyone at OutKick sends their condolences to Mercado-Ocasio’s family, friends, and teammates.
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Why the f is he wearing that mask?