State tournament game was marred by controversial call

Although I was not present at last Friday’s KHSAA baseball state tournament contest between Corbin and Central Hardin, I am well aware of the bizarre series of events that occurred in the fourth inning that put the Redhounds at a disadvantage, and likely cost them the game.

In case you haven’t already heard and/or seen, the game between Corbin and Central Hardin remained scoreless in the fourth inning. Redhound pitcher Evan Poore was on the mound when a Bruin runner attempted to steal home. Poore’s pitch made it to the catcher in time for him to turn and easily tag out the runner. The umpire gave the signal for the out, keeping the score at 0-0.

I believe at this point Corbin was about to go back up to bat, but discussion on the field led to the officials reversing the call at home plate, instead calling a balk on Poore and allowing Central Hardin to go up 1-0. They would score another run before the end of the inning, eventually going on to win the game, 2-1.

Now, I do not claim to be an expert in all things baseball, nor do I claim to know more about the sport than those officials who were on the field that day calling the game, but none of this really makes much sense to me. I was kind of lost when I was just hearing about the play via social media posts and text messages, so I hoped seeing video evidence would help clear things up.

It didn’t.

Corbin Redhound Evan Poore (photo courtesy of Dylan Wilson)

Balking can be tricky, and I will admit that I struggle with identifying it, but a quick internet search gives us the definition of, “when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire deems to be deceitful to the runner(s). As a result, any men on base are awarded the next base, and the pitch (if it was thrown in the first place) is waved off for a dead ball.”

Okay, sounds simple enough. So, when going back and seeing the video footage, did Poore balk prior to his delivery during the play in question? I think I can see a moment where an official might make that call, but guess what? They didn’t!

No balk was called, the runner tried to steal home, got tagged out, inning over.

I would really like to know what words were exchanged on the sideline that led to that official coming back out onto the field after the fact, saying Poore balked, and awarding a run to the Bruins. That, to me, just seems crazy. But again, what do I know?

So yeah, there was still a few innings of baseball yet to be played at this point, and Corbin had some opportunities that they ultimately couldn’t capitalize on, but don’t tell me that what happened in that fourth inning didn’t set the tone for the rest of the contest, because I assure you that it did.

Had the original call stood, then the Hounds would’ve had the momentum on their side. In a game that tight, momentum is everything. If they could’ve taken that momentum with them back up to the plate, then who knows what would’ve happened?

Sadly, we will never know the answer to that question, and in no way am I trying to make excuses for this team, but man, talk about a REALLY bad time to have something controversial like this take place. It just doesn’t get any bigger than the state championship tournament when you’re talking high school baseball, and to see any team have to lose a high stakes game due in part to a controversial call is just heartbreaking.

Nevertheless, congratulations again to the Redhounds baseball team, and to all of our other 2022 state title contenders, on a fantastic spring season. You all should be very proud of your accomplishments.