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Fans concerned about safety after man hit by foul ball at Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp game

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp have expanded their nets to keep people safe but some say the nets don’t go far enough.

Two weekends ago a man was hit in the head by a foul ball.

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The netting here at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville was put up before 2018.

The netting extends to the end of each dugout, but it still hasn’t proven to be completely safe.

Action News Jax obtained video after a scary scene unfolded at the baseball grounds of Jacksonville earlier this month.

The video show a Jumbo Shrimp fan wearing a bandage around his head being escorted to another seat by two stadium workers.

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What this video doesn’t show is what happened moments before, a foul ball came flying towards him and hit him in the head.

He was sitting beyond the protective netting that extends to the end of the dugouts.

“I knew something like that could happen,” explained Levella Enochs.

Levella Enochs says she goes to a lot of games at the stadium with her family.

“Balls just be coming, and folks be ducking and dodging, that’s a hard ball, it’s a hard-hit ball,” Enochs said.

Earlier this year when the Houston Astros played the Chicago Cubs, a 2-year-old was hit by a foul ball and had a skull fracture and seizure.

Now, people want more done to protect fans.

The Jumbo Shrimp general manager sent Action News Jax a statement saying extended netting was installed prior to the 2018 season:

"The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are committed to fan safety as the club's number one priority.  Prior to the 2018 season and in compliance with standards set by Minor League Baseball, The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville installed extended netting to protect fans from objects leaving the field of play. In addition, we have trained medical personal from JFRD on-site for every home game, in addition to JSO officers to help ensure the safety of all guests. Our employees are trained to hold the safety of our guests as the highest priority when attending events at the Baseball Grounds."