Pitcher suspended for one game for her role in fight against UAB
By PETE YOUNG
Published April 21, 2004
South Florida pitcher Leigh Ann Ellis has been suspended one game for her role in a melee Sunday after the Bulls' home game against UAB.
Ellis and UAB sophomore outfielder Chelsea McCall were involved in the incident. UAB coach Marla Townsend said the teams were shaking hands after the game when Ellis struck McCall on the outside of her left eye. USF's review did not conclude that Ellis struck McCall, senior associate athletic director Barbara Sparks-McGlinchy said.
"We felt like she could have handled the situation a little differently and reacted in a more sportsmanlike manner, and therefore we have to impose the one-game suspension," Sparks-McGlinchy said.
Ellis will sit out the first game of a three-game home series this weekend against Houston.
Townsend said that a few minutes after the incident Ellis admitted to both coaching staffs that she struck McCall, who had a mark near her eye but did not require medical attention.
"She isn't going to learn any lesson," Townsend said. "She'll sit out the first game (against Houston) and pitch the next two. They're making it out like it was a little-bitty shove, but it was a full-out swing."
McCall attempted to file a misdemeanor battery charge against Ellis. USF police department captain J.D. Withrow said the charge has not been filed with the State Attorney's Office because McCall did not sign the request for prosecution. It has been mailed to her in Birmingham, Ala., and Townsend said McCall intends to sign and return it to pursue the battery charge.
USF defeated UAB 8-0 on Sunday, as Ellis (32-4) pitched a one-hitter. Ellis leads C-USA in all pitching categories and ranks second nationally in wins.
