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Indiana State advanced past the regional round for just the second time in program history this weekend. The Sycamores were impressive, winning each of their three contests to sweep the field.
On Sunday, they took down Iowa in the regional final to book their ticket. A funny moment in that matchup is now going viral online.
Indiana State was the host school in its NCAA regional, landing a top 16 seed from the selection committee. This came after the Sycamores posted a 38-14 regular season record and won the Missouri Valley Conference.
Things didn’t get off to a great start this year as the team dropped eight of its first ten outings, but the group caught fire down the stretch.
That momentum has carried over into postseason play, as the Sycamores won the MVC tournament before making light work of their NCAA regional field. Indiana State won three straight games this weekend to advance to the supers in impressive fashion.
A win over No. 2 seed Iowa punched the ticket.
In that final matchup, the Sycamores pounded the Hawkeyes to the tune of 11 runs on 10 hits. Indiana State homered three times and scored each inning between the second and seventh frames to blow the game open.
But while the bats were the highlight of that decisive victory, it’s a play from the field that’s now going viral on social media.
In the seventh inning of play, Indiana State left fielder Adam Pottinger appeared to make a fantastic play to rob an Iowa hitter of a home run. The home crowd roared with excitement as it applauded the defender’s efforts. The broadcast booth commended the catch while the batter retreated to the dugout.
Unfortunately, it was all an illusion.
Pottinger deked the entire stadium into believing that he’d caught the ball when in reality, it landed safely over the outfield wall. After a few moments, he finally let the crowd in on the secret.
Had us all fooled. 😯#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/hjSv7TpuUo
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 5, 2023
Fans were quick to react to the dupe.
Some were surprised the outfielder didn’t receive punishment from the umpiring crew. We’ve seen players penalized for less this postseason.
One follower joked, “He should be thrown out of the game and suspended for the next game.”
Others seem to believe that the runner would’ve been called out had he left the field of play, even though he hit a HR. This person asked, “If the batter walked off the field, is he out?”
Luckily, we didn’t have to find out.
After realizing that the ball had left the park, the Iowa hitter rounded the bases, and a run was added to the scoreboard. It would be the last the Sycamores would allow as they coasted to a regional final win.