Foul's alarm: Batted ball prompts park evacuation 

A baseball box score beautifully and succinctly tells the story of the game. But there are some things that a box score can't tell you. Take, for instance, what happened during Friday evening's contest between the Low-A Jupiter Hammerheads and visiting St. Lucie Mets.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning and the score knotted, 1-1, Hammerheads catcher Cameron Barstad came to bat with a runner on second base. The 20-year-old Marlins prospect took Oscar Rojas' first offering for a ball and fouled off the next pitch. Moments later, sirens were blaring and the Hammerheads' home of Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium was being evacuated. As fans exited the building, firefighters were speeding toward it to investigate the cause of the alarm.

The culprit was none other than Barstad's foul ball, which began its brief existence as a 92.3-mph sinker. Leaving the bat at 88.3 mph, it soared past the stands on the third-base side, and at just the right angle, smashed a fire alarm mounted on a stone wall at the far side of the concourse. Confusion reigned as the game entered an unexpected and chaotic delay. What are the odds?

"That turned out to be the magical phrase of the night," said Hammerheads GM Jamie Toole. "What are the odds?"

Slight delay in tonight's game courtesy of @cameron_barstad

We know we're hot, but this might be getting out of hand 🔥#HammerDown pic.twitter.com/CvLEsJX4sr

— Jupiter Hammerheads (@GoHammerheads) June 19, 2021

When Barstad's fated foul left the bat, Toole was in the press box responding to a colleague's walkie-talkie call regarding a broken toilet.

"I was replying to that situation, so my attention was away from the game. Then I hear a fire alarm start to go off. My brain is telling me that a toilet overflowing isn't causing the fire alarm. That's my education speaking there," said Toole with a self-deprecating laugh. "So my first inclination is that if there's a fire in the stadium, let's get people out of here."

As gameday and front office staff assisted fans in evacuating the ballpark, Toole ran onto the field to discuss the situation with the umpires and coaches. There he received a phone call informing him the fire alarm had been busted by Barstad. This information was relayed by the same member of the stadium operations team who later fixed the momentarily forgotten broken toilet.

"Cam was so good about it, apologizing on the field," said Toole. "I told him, 'You don’t need to apologize, buddy.' It was only a seven-minute delay. It only took two or three minutes to get the alarm reset. The fire department was speedy in their reply. It turned out to be a universal laugh, because no one had ever heard of a foul ball crushing a fire alarm."

Any other @MiLB or @MLB clubs have to pause the game for a foul ball that hit the fire alarm causing the stadium to evacuate? No just @GoHammerheads & @stluciemets I guess pic.twitter.com/K4zfTFzm9D

— Jamie Toole (@JamieToole) June 19, 2021

After the game resumed, Barstad returned to the plate and drew a walk. He later signed his foul ball for the fan who retrieved it, providing the memorable inscription "Fire Alarm. Sorry 'bout it! lol." The Hammerheads went on to win the game in 11 innings, eking out a wild 6-5 victory over the Mets. Barstad, clearly experiencing a post-fire alarm power surge, bashed a mammoth 442-foot home run in the following night's ballgame.

"It's one of those stories we'll be telling 15 years from now. 'Remember when that foul ball hit the fire alarm?'" said Toole. "Now we've got to do some sort of spin-off promotion. Maybe a Cam Barstad baseball card where he's on a fire truck, or a fire alarm giveaway. We have to commemorate this moment in history at Roger Dean Stadium."