Baseball brawl trial under way in Ohio

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Former Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg says a minor league pitcher wouldn’t have been throwing at top velocity during an on-field brawl when he hurled a baseball that injured a fan.

Julio Castillo, 22, from the Dominican Republic, is on trial here facing charges of felonious assault. He is accused of throwing a baseball during the melee in Dayton last July and striking a fan in the head. Castillo has pleaded not guilty.

Sandberg testified today that video and photographs of Castillo from the incident show him making a regular throw, not a pitch with a full windup.

Castillo was pitching for the Peoria Chiefs, a Class A affiliate of the Cubs. Sandberg was the Chiefs’ manager last season, but wasn’t at the game.