Venezuelan first baseman Lino Connell of Danesi Nettuno was suspended by the disciplinary committee of the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation until July 19, 2011. As reason for the lengthy punishment it was cited that he threw his bat intentionally towards home plate umpire Iglis Serafini following a strikeout call last Saturday and hit him in the leg. Connell immediately got ejected from the game. He was hitting .320 (OBP .408/SLG .434) with two homeruns, 20 runs and 17 RBI in the Italian Baseball League this season.
Nettuno’s director Alberto De Carolis also got banned until July 19, as he addressed the umpire with offensive and hurtful sentences from an area near the dugouts even though he already was suspended until June 28. Connell already apologized to the umpire, to his teammates and club management. He also said that it was not his intent to hit Serafini, just an unlucky bounce when he dropped the bat in anger. Danesi Nettuno is appealing the suspension.
