New York’s Hornell High School was facing Palmyra-Macedon in the Section V Class B1 championship game Saturday, and with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hornell was one strike away from securing a victory.
What happened next?
With Palmyra-Macedon players on base — and Hornell clinging to a one-run lead — Hornell’s pitcher let one fly.
Strike three called! Game over … right?
Well, normally, yes. Except the Hornell catcher didn’t appear to cleanly catch the pitch, and the rules state that in such an instance the batter can take first base unless the batter is tagged out or thrown out at first.
That never happened.
With the Palmyra-Macedon batter off and running, for some reason Hornell began celebrating near the pitching mound. The other Palmyra-Macedon players who were on base, realizing the game wasn’t over yet, kept galloping, too — and scored the tying and winning runs.
Check it out:
Video showed that at least a couple of Hornell players figured out what was going on and tried to alert their fellow teammates, but it was too late.
Local outlet Pickin’ Splinters said Palmyra-Macedon actually scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to help secure the team’s third-straight sectional trophy.
“The moment realization set in was unmistakable, as the Hornell coaches immediately transition from joyous celebration to getting right into the face of the umpire, seemingly demanding answers for the bizarre sequence of events,” Sports Illustrated remarked.
The magazine added, “Truly one of the all-time most painful ways to lose a baseball game. The team thought it had just clinched a championship victory, only for a dropped third strike to be the team’s undoing.”
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