CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) β Virginia head baseball coach Brian O’Connor will serve an automatic four- game suspension for making contact with an umpire Friday at Virginia Tech.
O’Connor made contact with plate umpire Craig Barron in the eighth inning of Virginia’s loss, leading to the suspension under NCAA rules. O’Connor sat out Saturday’s loss at Virginia Tech, and also will miss a game with Hokies on Sunday along with homes games Tuesday against Towson and Friday against Florida State.
Associate head coach Kevin McMullan will serve as acting head coach in O’Connor’s absence.
“I want to apologize for my actions during Friday’s game,” O’Connor said. “I understand this calls for an automatic four-game suspension and I accept the consequences of my actions. I know the rule and had no intent to touch the umpire during our interaction. As the head coach, I have worked hard to set a high standard when it comes to sportsmanship and I did not do that during the game. All I can do is work to be a better coach and example to our players moving forward. Again, I want to apologize to the umpiring crew, my team and our fans for this inappropriate display.”
