SARASOTA, Fla. — A routine swing-and-miss briefly turned into a tense moment in the Ed Smith Stadium stands during Wednesday afternoon’s Grapefruit League game between the Orioles and Houston Astros.

During the first inning, Astros prospect Joseph Sullivan swung through a 96 mph fastball from Orioles right-hander Shane Baz. The follow-through sent Sullivan’s bat spinning high above the field, clearing the protective netting above the home dugout before flying into the second deck.

For a few seconds, the bat rotated through the air like a helicopter propeller.

Then it clanged off a metal guardrail in Section 209.

Seated just a few feet away in Row 5, seats 3 and 4, were Jim and Bonnie Hutchinson of Barnegat Township, New Jersey. The couple, who have been married for 30 years, were visiting Sarasota for spring training when the bat struck the handrail, bounced once and landed directly in front of Jim Hutchinson.

“When it came off his hands and I saw it was headed this way, I thought, no big deal, it’s going to hit the net,” said Hutchinson, a retired high school teacher and longtime baseball and football coach. “And then all of a sudden, like in slow motion, it went over the net. I thought it was going to hit the guy in front of me. It hit the rail, bounced up and landed right in front of me.”

Stadium attendants quickly checked on the couple to ensure they weren’t injured.

“We’re OK,” Hutchinson said. “It bounced just once.”

The bat remained with the couple after the brief scare.

“I’ll probably put it in my man cave,” Hutchinson said.

Major League Baseball required all ballparks to extend protective netting at least to the ends of both dugouts beginning with the 2018 season as part of broader fan-safety efforts and to prevent foul balls and equipment from entering the stands. The following season, teams extended nets all the way to the foul poles.

Despite those precautions, Wednesday’s incident showed how unpredictable equipment can be once it leaves a player’s hands.

In fact, it wasn’t the only flying bat of the afternoon.

Later in the eighth inning, Astros pinch hitter James Nelson swung through a pitch from Orioles reliever Dietrich Enns, sending another bat spinning into the seating area alongside the third-base line, prompting another alarming moment for the announced 5,122 fans in attendance.

For the Hutchinsons, the first incident produced an unexpected souvenir.

Jim Hutchinson spent roughly 30 years coaching high school baseball and football, including time at Southern Regional High School in New Jersey and Methacton High School outside Philadelphia.

The Hutchinsons travel to Florida each year for spring training. Though they consider themselves Philadelphia Phillies fans and often visit Clearwater, they also make a point to attend annual Grapefruit League contests at Ed Smith Stadium.

“We have a real affinity for this park,” Hutchinson said. “Ed Smith has an old-school feel, so we really like coming here.”

Bonnie Hutchinson, a retired registered nurse, said the moment unfolded quickly but felt like it lasted much longer.

“I was like, ‘Holy crap!’” she said. “It was like slow motion. All of a sudden his arm goes out, it bounces off the rail and he catches it.”

The bat will join other memorabilia inside the Hutchinson household, including a game-worn Super Bowl LVI jersey from their son, Clark Harris, a recently retired NFL long snapper who played 206 games across 15 seasons.

Harris, a Rutgers alumnus, played one season with the Houston Texans before spending 14 years with the Cincinnati Bengals. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2017 and started for the Bengals in their Super Bowl LVI loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

“We went to both of those games,” Bonnie Hutchinson said. “It was exciting following his career. Watching spring training games every year now keeps us active.”

This time, their annual trip to Florida included an unexpected souvenir, a bat that quite literally fell into their lap.

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