College Baseball Player Angel Mercado-Ocasio Dead After Dugout Collapse

A college baseball player died in Pennsylvania this week after a dugout collapsed on him, according to officials (per TMZ Sports). Angel Mercado-Ocasio, a freshman infielder from Central Penn College, was helping a youth baseball park in Harrisburg on Monday afternoon when the tragic incident happened. He was 19 years old. 

Matt Maisel, a City of Harrisburg spokesperson, said Mercado-Ocasio was working to take down a makeshift dugout that had been illegally built at the field, but part of it fell and landed on the athlete. Mercado-Ocasio sustained significant wounds before he was rushed to the hospital. he died on Tuesday night. 

"Our Central Penn College family is devastated by the loss of Angel," Central Penn College President Linda Fedrizzi-Williams wrote in a statement on Wednesday. "As friends who have become family, we are mourning the heart-wrenching loss of one of our own, a promising young athlete who senselessly lost his life while helping others enjoy the sport he loved so much."  

Harrisburgh Mayor Wanda Williams also released a statement. "We are devastated to learn of the passing of Angel Mercado-Ocasio," she said, per WGAL.com. "Anytime someone passes, we lose a little bit of who we are. It hurts even more when it's one of our own. Angel was our son; a proud Harrisburg Cougar, and a stand-out, promising young athlete. He died helping others around the sport he loved. It's heart-wrenching. Angel embraced so many people and now we need to embrace his memory. We ask everyone in the community to pray for his family, his friends, and his teammates, as we get through this impossibly difficult time together. The City of Harrisburg would like to extend our sincere condolences and prayers to the family."

Mercado-Ocasio played in 17 games for the Central Penn Knights baseball team this season and recorded two hits, six walks seven stolen bases and 11 runs. He last played for the team on May 6, and Fedrizzi-Williams said the team was able to say their goodbyes to their teammate on Tuesday. Last week, Central Penn won the Eastern States Conference championship, its first in school history.