Weatherford College pitcher removed from team, still under investigation
.jpg "Weatherford College pitcher Owen Woodward has been removed from the team after he slammed North Central Texas College’s Josh Phillips after the batter hit a home run off him in their game on Wednesday.")
The pitcher who put Weatherford College baseball on every newscast from Fort Worth to Fox to CNN has been removed from the team.
Weatherford College baseball coach Jeff Lightftoot confirmed to the Star-Telegram on Friday morning that pitcher Owen Woodward is no longer with the team.
“It was an athletic department decision,” Lightftoot said in a phone interview.
He didn’t specify ifWoodward is still enrolled at the school.
Woodward went viral for all of the wrong reasons this week.
On Wednesday, Weatherford played North Central Texas College in a doubleheader and in the sixth inning of Game 1, Lions batter Josh Phillips hit a home run off Woodward.
As Phillips rounded the bases, Woodward ran off the mound and leveled Phillips just after he touched third with a takedown that looked like it belonged more in a football game than a baseball game.
The tackle did not start a standard baseball brawl, but it did lead to a viral video that has been viewed by millions around the world.
On Thursday, the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference announced both Phillips and Woodward were suspended. Woodward was suspended four games, and Phillips two games.
Also suspended for two games were “all team members for NCTC that were in the dugout or bullpen,” and assistant coaches who stepped onto the field.
The conference also suspended four other Weatherford players and assistant coaches for two games.
The Weatherford police department said it has nothing to do with this incident.
Weatherford College chief of police Keith Bigongiari said, “This is an active criminal investigation. I hope we will have a decision whether charges will be filed next week.”
According to people who were at the game, Phillips taunted Woodward and his teammates as he rounded the bases with some choice four-letter words. It wasn’t as if Phillips tried to whisper, and it was not hard to hear what he said.
Woodward didn’t take kindly to the words, and he reacted. Lightfoot said Woodward expressed regret over the incident.
“I will say that he’s a good kid. He was a good kid on Tuesday, and he was a good on Wednesday and he’s a good kid today,” Lightfoot said. “He’s been a model teammate. He’s been a model student here. I care about him deeply.”
Since the incident, Lightfoot’s email inbox has been overflowing. He has received requests for interviews from all over the country, from TMZ to Fox News to CNN.
“It’s been ridiculous, just getting emails from people all over the country from people that just want to let me know their opinion,” he said. “It’s comical. Some lawyer in New York thinks I want to know his opinion on this issue.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 11:21 AM.
