Stephens Co. fined $1,000 over baseball incident

CARTERSVILLE – The Georgia High School Association fined Stephens County $1,000 on Wednesday and placed the baseball program on "severe warning" status following an incident over the weekend in which an umpire was hit by a pitch.

In the fourth inning of the high school AAA championship in Cartersville, Stephens County catcher Matt Hill ducked and pulled his glove down, allowing the ball to strike umpire Jeff Scott in the face mask. Scott was not injured.

According to reports, the incident was retaliation against Scott, who had called out nine Stephens’ players on strikes. One of those struck out was shortstop Ethan Martin, the brother of pitcher Cody Martin.

Stephens County Principal David Friend has made an apology to the Georgia High School Association and is expected to make a report by the end of the week.

The investigating officials say they will have a ruling this week. The umpires association has declined comment.

Cartersville won the game 13-1, clinching the Class AAA championship.