Sports

Bench-Clearing College Baseball Scuffle Results In Ump Show And Egregious Ejection Over Hard Tag

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Clemson Florida Baseball Fight Caglianone Ejection
ESPN

Jac Caglianone was at the center of a kerfuffle between Florida and Clemson during Sunday’s college baseball Super Regional in South Carolina. Both dugouts cleared when a fight nearly broke out over a hard tag down the first base line.

Both benches were warned and one single player was ejected for leaving his position during the skirmish.

The high-intensity moment went down during the top of the second inning of a game that the Tigers needed to win to extend their season. On the flip side, a win for the Gators secured their bid to the College World Series. To say that tensions were heightened would be an understatement!

Clemson designated hitter Nolan Nawrocki dribbled a ground ball back toward the mound with two outs and a runner on second base. Caglianone, a two-way superstar, scooped up the grounder near the first base line and immediately tagged out the batter. In doing so, he stood directly in front of the runner.

Nawrocki did not appreciate how Caglianone approached the tag and shoved him off of the base path. Caglianone turned right back around and got in Nawrocki’s face— right in front of the Tigers’ dugout.

Naturally, that sparked the escalation.

Clemson players ran onto the field to defend their teammate. Florida players also stormed out onto the field. Many of them had to be held back as choice words were exchanged between the players, the coaches and the umpires.

Here is how it looked in real-time:

Here is how it looked on the replay:

Caglianone didn’t appreciate Nawrocki’s shoulder. Nawrocki didn’t appreciate Caglianone’s response.

Both dugouts cleared because fired-up college athletes in a high-pressure situation were ready to protect their own. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. The Tigers and Gators should have been warned and play should have been allowed to continue. Move on!

Unfortunately, that is not what happened. A lengthy review resulted in an egregious ejection.

Clemson first baseman Jack Crighton was thrown out of the game because he ran up on the scene of the scuffle and did not simply return to the dugout. Head coach Erik Bakich did not agree with the the decision and actually made the umpire inform his player of the ruling.

Loud boos rained down from the crowd. Crighton was furious and rightfully so! His actions were no different than that of his teammates or his opponents.

Both benches were warned, which was absolutely warranted. An ejection was extremely weak.

Although the ump show sucked all of momentum out of the game, it injected life into Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Tigers fans went absolutely bonkers when Clemson answered back with a two-run home run in the next half inning.

Regardless of the eventual outcome, there was no reason for an ejection to be issued in that situation. There is no reason for the college baseball umpires to make that moment about themselves. And yet, of course, they did!