The fans got to see the extreme end of State College Spikes manager Mark DeJohn's wrath last night during a rare ejection in the third inning.

A close play in a bases-loaded situation pulled DeJohn from his usual roost on the left dugout steps to meet umpire Keith Rogowski about the questionable call.

The controversy started when Mahoning Valley's Josh Rodriguez hit a sharp ground ball to the right of third baseman Allen Craig. The ball hit the heal of Craig's mitt and dropped to the ground, forcing Craig to dive to third base with the ball in his glove. The umpire ruled the runner safe on the bang-bang play, which allowed a run to score.

"I thought he was out," Craig said. "Definitely. It was really close, could have gone either way, but I was right there, and I thought he was out."

The decision sent the crowd and DeJohn into a frenzy. DeJohn strutted across the infield and met Rogowski at the grass line in front of the shortstop position. Ten seconds into the confrontation, Rogowski ejected DeJohn, which only fueled his temper.

DeJohn thrust his chest at the umpire and continued to spit venom as Rogowski stood his ground. At one point, DeJohn whirled away from Rogowski, throwing his hand up toward the stands as if to eject the umpire, symbolizing his disdain.

Twice, DeJohn seemed like he was finished arguing before turning around to deliver one more earful. The entire confrontation lasted right around the three-minute mark.

Position coach Mike Shildt took over for DeJohn after the ejection. Shildt said that DeJohn had allowed him to take a hand at managing games prior to the ejection, albeit on a short leash. That experience made the transition of running the game much smoother for Shildt.

"DJ's let me run some games through the course of the year. This is just the first time I did it without him in the dugout," he said. "It was fine. I had no problem with it. We just didn't get the result we wanted."

After the game, DeJohn showed a subtle smile while discussing the motion of ejecting the umpire.

"If he throws me out, I'll throw him out," DeJohn said.

The reverse ejection hasn't become his signature move, DeJohn said, but he keeps it in his bag of tricks.

"It's one of those things; I kind of acquired it," DeJohn said. "The only difference is when I throw him out, he doesn't have to leave."

After the game, DeJohn said the ejection was probably swift because of a few coarse words. Even though the play cost them a run, it did not have a major impact on the game, which the Spikes lost 6-3.

The Spikes quickly rallied back from the run to erase any memories of the questionable call but couldn't hold onto the lead. Only an inning and a half after the ejection, Craig hit a two-run home run in his next plate appearance. While he didn't give DeJohn complete credit, he said it was a little inspiring to see his coach have his back. DeJohn said he never argues with an umpire in order to inspire his players, only to defend them in questionable calls.

"When I played, I never said, 'Oh gee, I guess I'll start playing harder now because my manager got thrown out.' That doesn't play for me. That's garbage," DeJohn said.