A college baseball clash was delayed after a pelican was caught in the net behind home plate.

Loyola Marymount took on UC Santa Barbara at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in California on Tuesday night.

The UCSB Gauchos ran out 11-1 winners but the game was briefly halted in the fourth inning when a bird needed rescuing by fans.

Cameras panned away from the action to show a pelican with its beak caught in netting. It had flown low over the stadium before hitting the net behind the benches.

Players and coaches could be seen watching on as three fans tried to free the bird by lifting and pulling on the net. 

After flapping wildly for several seconds, the pelican dropped out of the netting and on to the field.

An LMU assistant wandered towards the pelican and attempted to usher it off the field

Much to the amusement of players and coaches, an LMU Lions assistant then wandered towards the pelican and attempted to usher it off the field.

Eventually the bird flew out of the ballpark but the comical incident even made it into a report of the Gauchos’ 11-1 win.

‘Oddness lingered in the game,’ the UCSB website wrote afterwards. ‘The Gauchos harnessed the “rally pelican” magic to re-take the lead.’

The bird also made it on to the box score of the LMU website, which listed the weather in California as ‘Pelican-approved.’