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OMAHA, NE — Ole Miss baseball's lead over Troy in the College World Series started slipping away on a balk.
Ole Miss was up by four runs in the fifth, but Troy had the bases loaded with two outs.
Starter Hunter Elliott was called for a balk as he put his hand up to his ear with the ball in it to try to listen to the pitchcom. He then stepped off the pitching rubber, resulting in a balk.
Troy (39-31) scored a run on the call. One batter later, Troy second baseman Sean Darnell hit a single that scored two more in its eventual 12-8 win.
Ole Miss entered the fifth inning with a 6-2 lead, but it was the beginning of seven unanswered runs from the Trojans. The loss eliminated Ole Miss from the CWS.
Elliott didn't use the call that had Ole Miss (41-23) fans at Charles Schwab Field in an uproar as an excuse. He was more focused on Darnell's hit than the balk that led to it.
"I needed to make the next pitch," Elliott said. "I didn't get off the field there. The balk doesn't kill you if you don't give up the base hit right after."
Elliott said he did not get an explanation from the umpire, and he was a little surprised at the ruling.
ESPN's rules analyst Scott Cline agreed with the call. Analyst Ben McDonald questioned the umpire's decision to rule it balk, but not in a previous instances in which Elliott tried to improve his pitchcom hearing.
"I don't think it had anything to do with the ball going to the ear. It's total judgment of the umpire," Cline said on the ESPN broadcast. "He felt he'd (Elliott) started to bring his hands together, and then he stopped, and then stepped off. That's complete judgment on the umpire's part. ... Wouldn't have minded them passing on it, but the umpire felt like he needed to call it."
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco went onto the field and conferred with first base umpire Billy Van Raaphorst after the call. Bianco said he agreed with Elliott's assessment that it was small moment in a game filled with missed opportunities for the Rebels.
"As frustrated as everybody is, (Elliott) is right," Bianco said.
It was the first balk Elliott has been called for in three complete seasons.
Elliott allowed another hit, then exited the game after 4⅔ innings, allowing five runs, seven hits, four walks and striking out nine.
Ole Miss had been 7-0 when Elliott started an NCAA Tournament game in his career.
Contributing: Tia Reid
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hunter Elliott reacts to balk call in Ole Miss vs Troy CWS loss
Continue reading...
Ole Miss was up by four runs in the fifth, but Troy had the bases loaded with two outs.
Starter Hunter Elliott was called for a balk as he put his hand up to his ear with the ball in it to try to listen to the pitchcom. He then stepped off the pitching rubber, resulting in a balk.
Troy (39-31) scored a run on the call. One batter later, Troy second baseman Sean Darnell hit a single that scored two more in its eventual 12-8 win.
Ole Miss entered the fifth inning with a 6-2 lead, but it was the beginning of seven unanswered runs from the Trojans. The loss eliminated Ole Miss from the CWS.
Elliott didn't use the call that had Ole Miss (41-23) fans at Charles Schwab Field in an uproar as an excuse. He was more focused on Darnell's hit than the balk that led to it.
"I needed to make the next pitch," Elliott said. "I didn't get off the field there. The balk doesn't kill you if you don't give up the base hit right after."
Elliott said he did not get an explanation from the umpire, and he was a little surprised at the ruling.
ESPN's rules analyst Scott Cline agreed with the call. Analyst Ben McDonald questioned the umpire's decision to rule it balk, but not in a previous instances in which Elliott tried to improve his pitchcom hearing.
"I don't think it had anything to do with the ball going to the ear. It's total judgment of the umpire," Cline said on the ESPN broadcast. "He felt he'd (Elliott) started to bring his hands together, and then he stopped, and then stepped off. That's complete judgment on the umpire's part. ... Wouldn't have minded them passing on it, but the umpire felt like he needed to call it."
Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco went onto the field and conferred with first base umpire Billy Van Raaphorst after the call. Bianco said he agreed with Elliott's assessment that it was small moment in a game filled with missed opportunities for the Rebels.
"As frustrated as everybody is, (Elliott) is right," Bianco said.
It was the first balk Elliott has been called for in three complete seasons.
Elliott allowed another hit, then exited the game after 4⅔ innings, allowing five runs, seven hits, four walks and striking out nine.
Ole Miss had been 7-0 when Elliott started an NCAA Tournament game in his career.
Contributing: Tia Reid
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hunter Elliott reacts to balk call in Ole Miss vs Troy CWS loss
Continue reading...
