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The Viriginia-Wise baseball team’s season ended in controversy over the weekend thanks in part to a debatable call on what appeared to be a game-tying home run.
The Cavs looked to have evened the score with two outs in the ninth inning potentially sending a Friday night conference tournament game to extra play. Instead, the tying run was thrown out at the plate.
UVA-Wise entered the final frame trailing 5-3 against Lenior-Rhyne. Jake Smith smacked a laser to left-centerfield which looked to have cleared the outfield fence. The ball appeared to ricochet off the scoreboard and back into the field of play.
Everyone believed it was a home run, defenders included. Smith jogged around the basepaths under the assumption that the ball left the park.
Virginia-Wise baseball season ends in controversy.
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Umpires, however, did not stop play. Smith was later thrown out at the plate as the defense relayed the ball in to the catcher. Despite a video replay on the controversial ruling, the play was upheld. Final score, 5-4.
The call had a major impact on the outcome of the contest. Had the call been overturned, the two-run homer would’ve tied the game and allowed the Cavs to send the winning run to the plate with the next at-bat. Instead, the game ended as Smith was ruled to be the third and final out in the frame.
The conference tournament appearance was Virginia-Wise baseball’s first as a SAC member. The league did not comment on the ruling after the fact.
The home run call led to an early trip home for the Cavs’ in the 2025 season. The team finished the year 26-24 after dropping a Saturday contest to Carson-Newman.