Following altercation, Windsor, Rancho Cotate have some suspensions dropped ahead of baseball rematch
The dust has settled in the aftermath of last week's altercation between the Windsor and Rancho Cotate baseball teams that saw both rosters ejected and the game end in a double forfeit - and the teams will meet again Wednesday as the seasons continue for both.
Both benches cleared in Friday's game at Windsor following a hard play at the plate between the Rancho catcher and a Windsor runner. The head umpire automatically ejected all players and halted the game after the incident.
Per California Interscholastic Federation rules, the penalty for fighting or involvement in an altercation carries an automatic three-game suspension, which put the season for both teams in jeopardy with the league tournament this week and the North Coast Section playoffs starting next week.
Some suspensions were appealed by the schools earlier this week, and the results give both teams a chance to continue competing.
School officials confirmed that Windsor had 10 players cleared to resume playing immediately, while Rancho Cotate had six. The other players who were ejected will serve their three-game suspensions and the rosters will be filled out for this week's games with players called up from the junior varsity teams. Each team typically carries a roster numbering in the low 20s.
Windsor and Rancho Cotate are set to play each other again Wednesday at Windsor in the semifinals of the North Bay League Oak division tournament. The winner will face either Cardinal Newman - which won the regular-season league title outright with its three-game sweep of Maria Carrillo last week - or Ukiah in Friday's tournament title game at Rec Park in Healdsburg.
Wednesday's rematch suddenly carries heightened importance for both teams, since the winner will get an extra game for players to serve their suspensions before the section playoffs begin.
Rancho Cotate's clock has already begun since the team played Credo on Monday in the final game of the regular season. If the Cougars win Wednesday, Friday's tournament title game will be the last game that their suspended players will miss, meaning they'll be back at full strength to start the postseason.
Windsor may have had more players cleared to return, but the squad will be without its suspended players to start the playoffs. If the Jaguars win Wednesday, they'll still be shorthanded for their postseason opener next week. The earliest suspended players could return is in the second round of the NCS playoffs.
Windsor head coach Ryan England said it was a difficult weekend navigating the fallout from Friday, calling it "the most unfortunate incident" he's ever been a part of on a baseball field in his 40 years in the sport.
"The whole weekend I felt embarrassment," he told The Press Democrat on Tuesday. "I've never felt I couldn't go somewhere with my head held high, knowing that people were looking at me like ‘that' coach. There was no indication that we even had to worry about something like that. It hurt that much more, and the fact that it was senior night and it took so much away from so many kids and parents. For me, I think that's what bothered me most."
"All I can say is it legitimately broke my heart," he added. "It wasn't a good weekend, and anyone that knows me knows that that's not how I roll and that's not what we preach. Nothing but regret all weekend: ‘What could I have done? What should I have done?'"
Rancho Cotate head coach Erik Tucker did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted Tuesday.
Prior to Friday, both teams had been playing well down the stretch of the regular season, and both are projected to make the NCS playoffs next week. As of Tuesday, Windsor is projected as the No. 7 seed in Division 2, while Rancho Cotate, the defending Northern California Division 3 champion, is the No. 11 seed in Division 3.
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