D-II College Baseball Player Dies After Dugout Collapse

The victim was a freshman at Central Penn College.

Angel Mercado, a 19-year-old freshman at Division II Central Penn College, died earlier this week when he was struck in the face trying to dismantle a makeshift dugout, according to the Associated Press.

Mercado was a middle infielder playing in a summer recreation league that played its games at a park in Harrisburg, Pa. Mercado’s coach had constructed a makeshift dugout out of wood on Sunday, but the city told him that it wasn’t allowed. Mercado was one of several players helping to take down the structure when it unexpectedly collapsed and struck him in the face.

Mercado suffered a traumatic head injury and was taken to the hospital where he died on Tuesday. A coroner in Cumberland County where the incident occurred ruled the death an accident.

“Nothing criminal happened here,” city spokesperson Matt Maisel told the AP. “No charges will be filed against the coach. No charges will be filed against anyone. This is simply a tragedy.”