KEARNEY, Neb. -- A decision in central Nebraska is making waves through the baseball community across the state, and beyond.

"He was a decent catcher," said Calvin Johnson, who was the umpire in the game. "He stopped multiple balls (during the game) from bouncing and hitting me. He would go get that outside pitch and he would try to block it down.

"Sure, maybe one or two balls would hit me in the shin, but it's also 12U baseball. They're learning."

Backed with this information is what made the transpiring events even more surprising.

On Wednesday night in a 12U baseball game between Hastings and Minden, there were two outs in the top of the 4th inning with the bases loaded for Hastings.

A close call on the third base line was ruled a fair ball and a force out on the runner coming home. The Hastings coach came down the line and rightfully appealed the call. At the same time, NCN has now confirmed there was an assistant coach on the bench arguing loudly about it being a foul ball.

In the ensuing inning, there was an act of perceived retribution carried out by the Hastings team. With the first pitch of the frame, the 71st for the 12-year-old, threw a high, hittable baseball in the area of the plate.

The catcher pushed off to the left and made no play on stopping the incoming pitch.

"He jumped completely out of the way, almost behind the batter, and (the pitcher) drilled me.

"Pitchers do make mistakes and they can throw behind the batter, which is totally understandable. That one was right down the middle," said Johnson.

NCN has since spoken with the chair of the Hastings American Legion baseball program and they clearly state they do not condone this type of action by anyone associated with their program. The chair says they are handling the actions of what they say should not have happened and should not happen again.

While he was targeted by specific members of the Hastings team because of his bang-bang decision on a close ball near the foul line, Johnson does not held any ill-will. He's hoping this can be a teachable moment for everyone involved, or anyone else who sees this before going to their next game, whatever the sport or age level is.

"I hope (people) learn that umpires are not perfect, we are human, after all," Johnson said. "You've just got to keep your cool. If the call doesn't go your way, you have to set an example."