The Boston Marathon was over a month ago, but that didn’t stop college baseball from having its own marathon over the weekend.
For 22 innings, No. 7 Texas Christian University and Sam Houston State University dueled it out Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, in a wild NCAA Tournament contest that took six hours and 54 minutes to complete.
TCU left fielder Boomer White finally put the Horned Frogs ahead for good when he singled in shortstop Keaton Jones in the top of the 22nd inning. The historic contest became the second-longest game in the history of the tourney and third-longest overall in NCAA Division I history.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team and I couldn’t be more proud of Sam Houston’s team,” Â Horned Frogs coach Jim Schlossnagle said, via ESPN.com. “It’s a shame someone had to lose that game. I’m delirious right now.”
Without an umpire’s judgement call, however, Sam Houston State might have come out on top one inning earlier. Bearkats third baseman Carter Burgess appeared to score the winning run when left fielder Luke Plucheck slid hard into second base, forcing an errant throw on a double-play attempt. Sam Houston State’s players even ran from their dugout to celebrate.
The second base umpire, ruled that Plucheck had interfered with the throw to first base, sending the game to the 22nd inning.
Plucheck and Bearkats coach David Pierce both were ejected from the game for arguing the call.
The teams squared off again Sunday night, with TCU claiming a 6-1 win to advance to its fourth super regional in six years. That game took a mere nine innings to decide.
Photo via Twitter/@Teakell_KD
