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PHOENIX, AZ (KTVK) — A young woman hoping for a hug from a baseball player has been arrested at Chase Field, after police say she ran onto the field in the middle of a Diamondbacks-Dodgers game.
Madison Aranda, 18, is the Dodger fan police say darted onto the field Monday night to try to hug Dodgers outfielder, 23-year-old Cody Bellinger.
It happened during the eighth inning of the Dodgers 8-5 road loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Police say Aranda “unlawfully entered the field of play” at Chase Field during the game.
Instagram video shows her running onto the field, dashing up to Bellinger and demanding “Can I get a hug? Can I get a hug?”
She was detained and escorted off the field by security, another moment caught on Instagram.
“This caused a disruption to the major league baseball game which was in progress and resulted in a game delay and interruption to the television broadcast,” stated the police report.
Aranda was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail. She faces one charge of disorderly conduct and one count of trespassing, both misdemeanors.
When police asked Aranda why she went on the field, she simply stated that “she wanted to give Cody Bellinger a hug.”
“I had a feeling she was harmless… but it could potentially get dangerous, especially if it keeps getting blown up like it is,” said Bellinger, who is a former National League Rookie of the Year.
According to CBS Sports, this was the second time in two days that a fan rushed Bellinger on the field, hoping for a hug.
During the ninth inning of Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, a 14-year-old girl attempted to get a hug from Bellinger as he stood in the outfield.
Bellinger has expressed his desire for the incidents to stop, saying he doesn’t think he should have to worry about who’s going to come out onto the field.
Aranda later posted on her Instagram feed that “it was worth it.”
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