An Australian Baseball League player has been ordered to stand trial for assault over an on-field brawl despite his lawyer saying the case is a waste of court resources.
Former Adelaide Bite pitcher Troy Scott, 21, is charged with assaulting Melbourne Aces player Kellin Deglan during a fight at Adelaide's Norwood Oval in January.
Deglan, 23, suffered facial injuries that required dental work.
In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, Magistrate Lynette Duncan set down a two-day trial for January.
This is the second time a trial date has been set after neither Scott or Deglan appeared on the last occasion.
Both men returned to their homes in the US shortly after the incident and have not come back to Australia since.
Defence lawyer Craig Caldicott said he had expected the charges to be dismissed given the evidence and the difficulty prosecutors have had in gathering witnesses.
"If you have a look at the footage you can see he's going to the defence of another, and that's clearly a defence," he told reporters outside court.
"To expend this amount of time and energy on this case is a waste of resources."
Mr Caldicott said he presumed the government would have to pay for Deglan to travel to Australia to give evidence at trial.
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