Sports

Louisiana Commentator Trashes College Baseball Players On Hot Mic

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The Troy baseball team faced off against Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament over the weekend in hopes of securing an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Trojans would fall short of a championship appearance, being eliminated by the Golden Eagles on Sunday. Adding insult to injury, a hot mic caught an announcer trashing the pitching staff while watching the season come to an end.

The on-air comment seemed more of a frustration with Southern Miss. Troy’s pitching staff caught the stray.

Southern Miss beat Troy twice in the Sun Belt Baseball Tournament.

The Golden Eagles won the regular season crown to enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed. They then beat Troy in the first postseason meeting, 7-6.

That win came in dramatic fashion. Trailing 6-3 and down to its final strike, Southern Miss blasted a walk-off grand slam to go ahead. The ensuing celebration sparked a reaction surrounding the home team’s poor sportsmanship.

Troy would get revenge the next game, winning 9-6 to force an elimination contest on Sunday. That final matchup would be controlled by the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. They’d use the early advantage to win 6-2, booking a ticket to the championship round.

While the final meeting was much less dramatic than the previous two, it did not come without controversy.

Hot mic catches commentator trashing Troy baseball players.

Matt Stewart and Ronnie Rantz were on the call over the weekend. With Troy trailing big, Rantz appeared to take offense to a Southern Miss challenge situation.

As umpires gathered for a review, the announcer is heard saying, “(Southern Miss) had the bases loaded with trash pitchers on the mound before and couldn’t get any runs. This is ridiculous.”

Troy’s pitching staff was depleted. It was forced to use six pitchers in the loss. None lasted 2.1 innings.

Southern Miss loaded the bases in the fourth inning to force a third Troy pitching change. Still, the Golden Eagles were unable to push a run across.

It wouldn’t matter in the long run as they’d already built a lead that would prove insurmountable. Rantz, an ESPN radio host in Baton Rouge, was frustrated with the review that came two innings later.

His reasoning is unknown, though it could have something to do with the fact that the winner would face Louisiana in the championship round.

The Ragin’ Cajuns won its regular season series with the Golden Eagles, 2-1.

Southern Miss appears it will get the last laugh in Game 4. They are up 11-1 at the time of this writing. A win should all but secure a Top 16 seed and host opportunity for the Golden Eagles.

Rantz has not responded to the snafu publicly. His co-host refused to take any blame in his replies on social media.

As for Troy, the loss to Southern Miss puts them firmly on the bubble for NCAA Tournament inclusion. It has strong metrics with an RPI of 34 nationally. The Trojans, however, could be on the outside looking in with the overall record sitting at 32-29.

If the baseball season does come to an end with the loss, the last impression viewers will have of Troy is Rantz’s hot mic criticism.