Ole Miss was sitting pretty in the 8th inning of their third round SEC Tournament game against Georgia. Up 3-1 with two outs in the inning, they forced a routine ground ball struck towards pitcher Parker Caracci, who should’ve had the easy force-out by throwing to first.
We say ‘should’ve,’ but in reality, things don’t always unfold the way that logic dictates. Sometimes, you just blow it.
For whatever reason, Caracci threw to home instead -- where the catcher would have to tag the runner coming from third, unlike the simple force out at first. Of course, that wound up moot, as the throw sailed high anyway, and Georgia was able to milk two runs out of the error to tie the game.
To add insult to injury, the batter, who surely thought he'd be the one to blow the scoring chance, was able to advance all the way to third, and it appeared that Caracci was at fault once again, this time more understandably so, after getting caught up in the action and forgetting to cover the base.
This must’ve been a tough one for Caracci’s teammates to stomach, particularly as the game extended to extras. It would all turn out fine, however, as despite a scare in the top of the 10th inning courtesy of a Georgia solo dinger, Ole Miss would emerge victorious after a walkoff double. They’ll move on to play in Friday’s quarterfinals, where, with any luck, they’ll avoid any more heart attacks.
This wasn’t the only late-game drama to come out of the SEC Tournament recently, as on Thursday night, LSU closer Todd Peterson entered a 12th inning game to smoke a two-run double... in his first career at-bat.
For a sport as ostensibly rigid as baseball, it sure does provide a lot of wackadoo moments. We’re here for it.
