Thursday’s tragic death of Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart rocked the baseball community.

Before their season opener at Security Service Field, the Sky Sox observed a moment of silence for the 22-year-old killed hours earlier in a hit-and-run accident in Fullerton, Calif.

For many in the stands it was a gesture to honor a name they only learned that day. But for several players, it was far more personal.

“I got to know him a little bit – he actually came over to our apartment last year,” Sky Sox outfielder Chris Frey said of meeting the former Salt Lake City hurler last season. “I was living with Christian Colonel and he was friends with Matt Brown (also of the Angels organization) so he brought him over.

“He was a really nice guy, a good competitor. I didn’t know him too well, but I played against him for three years, so I got to know him in that way.”

The accident occurred hours after Adenhart made his season debut, throwing six scoreless innings.

Adenhart was a passenger in a Mitsubishi Eclipse that was broadsided in an intersection about 12:30 a.m. by a minivan that apparently ran a red light, police said.

The minivan driver fled the crash on foot and was captured about 30 minutes later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, and said he had a suspended license because of a previous drunken driving conviction.

Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit of .08 percent, police said.

Adenhart died in surgery at the UC Irvine Medical Center. Henry Nigel Pearson, a 25-year-old passenger in the car, and the driver, 20-year-old Courtney Frances Stewart, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Adenhart’s path through the minors ran parallel with Frey’s so they met several times on the field.

“He was a guy that came at you, seemed to never be afraid of anyone,” Frey said. “He went at hitters and was very competitive. I faced him quite a bit and he was definitely a very talented guy. It’s just sad that it had to end like that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story

Fullerton, Calif., police officers survey the scene of a hit-and-run car accident Thursday, April 9, 2009, in Fullerton, Calif., that claimed the life of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart. Photo by AP PHOTO

Nick Ut