video shows whirlwind engulfing catcher at youth baseball game in Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A dust devil quickly formed during a baseball game Sunday afternoon at the Fort Caroline Athletic Association baseball field in Jacksonville.

In a video shared with news WJXT, the partner of Local 10 in Jacksonville, Bauer Zoya, who wears the 7 and plays wide receiver for the Ponte Vedra Sharks, finds himself being engulfed in the short-lived whirlwind.

“I was scared and I was afraid someone would take me out,” Zoya said.

Zoya was in the spiral of sand and rubble for a few seconds before 17-year-old referee Aidan Wiles rescued him.

And Zoya said that even though it was only for a few seconds, it felt like she had been there for 10 minutes.

“I couldn’t breathe well,” Zoya said. “So I held my breath and felt like I couldn’t touch the ground. I got up a bit.”

Wiles said that when he saw Zoya surrounded by all the dust, he was a little scared at first.

But he knew that the best thing for him was to put his fear aside and help the little one.

“I was worried about his safety because, when I was coached, I learned that player safety always comes first,” Wiles said.

The dustup occurred in the second of a three-game tournament in Fort Caroline.

It was between the Fort Caroline Athletic Association Indians and the Ponte Vedra Sharks.

Zoya said that the dust did not prevent her from continuing to play.

After the referee rescued him, his father poured water on him to remove the dirt from his eyes, and then returned to the game.

He even believes that what happened to him helped him play better, even though his team failed to win the championship; but they went home with Mother’s Day rings.

And while Zoya is pleased, his father, Brian Zoya, said he’s glad Wiles thought fast and stepped in to help his son.

“It’s special to see a guy have the presence of mind to do something like that,” Brian said. “It was great to see him yesterday. His parents raised him very well ”.

Brian also said that he has been in contact with Wiles’s parents. So there could be a possible meeting in the future.