Boston fans won’t face charges

? Two Boston Red Sox fans who scuffled with New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield during a game last month won’t be charged after a court dismissed the case Thursday for lack of evidence.

The clerk magistrate said there was no probable cause to charge Christopher House and Matthew Donovan with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. House and Donovan were ejected from Fenway Park on April 14 after House appeared to make contact with Sheffield as the player chased down a ball in the outfield.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome, obviously,” House’s lawyer, Matthew McCarthy, told the Associated Press as he left the closed hearing in Boston Municipal Court.

Had the magistrate found probable cause, criminal charges would have been filed and the case referred to a judge.

Police had filed applications for criminal charges against House and Donovan, who apparently tossed a beer in Sheffield’s direction during the scuffle. Sheffield was chasing Jason Varitek’s triple into the right-field corner when House reached over the three-foot high fence, and Sheffield said he was hit in the face.

Sheffield picked up the ball, pushed House, then threw the ball to the infield. Sheffield turned toward House, but a security guard jumped over the wall and stood between the two.