Sports

Florida Baseball Game Played Under Protest After Controversial New Rule Robs Stetson Of Crucial Run

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Florida Stetson Baseball Controversy First Base Safety Bag
ESPN

Florida defeated Stetson by a score of 6-1 in Wednesday’s college baseball game at Conrad Park. However, the final two innings were played under protest due to a controversial call in the seventh.

A bang-bang play ruled in favor of the Gators robbed the Hatters of a crucial run.

The contentious sequence took place with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning of a unique midweek matchup where the No. 7-ranked program in college baseball traveled to a mid-major. Albeit, Stetson is elite in its own right, but still. Florida went two hours south to play on the road.

The Gators jumped out to a 2-1 lead on the first pitch of the seventh inning with a solo bomb. The Hatters thought they tied it up in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore catcher Salvador Alvarez knocked a single right back to the mound with two outs and a runner on third. It knocked off of pitcher Aidan King’s glove to the shortstop. Alvarez beat the throw to first which allowed the run to score.

… but only momentarily.

Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan called for a video review from the dugout. College baseball implemented a new two-bag first base during the offseason to eliminate potential collisions and he thought Alvarez stepped on the main first base bag, not the new orange safety bag. Per the rules:

If there is a play on the batter-runner and the batter-runner touches only the white portion of the double base and the defense appeals prior to the batter-runner returning to first base, it is treated the same as missing the base.

Exception: when the defense fields a batted ball or throws from foul territory near first base to make a play on the batter-runner, or when an errant throw pulls the defense off the white portion of the base into foul ground, the batter-runner may use either portion of the double base and can run in fair territory in an effort to avoid a collision.

— Double First Base Rule – 1.7b

Here is an example:

Upon further review, the umpires determined O’Sullivan was correct. Alvarez only stepped on the white first base bag. He did not step on the orange safety bag. The run did not count.

However, the definitive evidence for the call was not so definitive. You be the judge:

College Baseball Double Base Safety Bag Stetson Florida
ESPN

Stetson players did not initially return to the field in the top of the eighth. They stayed in the dugout while their head coach filed an official protest of the call.

The next two innings were played under protest and the home team lost all of its juice because of the controversy. Florida went on to win 8-1.