The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs beat the Dallas Baptist Patriots 12-5 in the Austin regional of the college baseball NCAA Tournament on Friday night. And the highlight of the game for Louisiana Tech — and certainly the lowlight for Dallas Baptist — came on a wacky play that resulted in four runs.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Louisiana Tech’s Jorge Corona hit a deep flyball that looked very catchable.
However, Dallas Baptist center fielder Nathan Humphreys lost the ball in the sky/lights and had no idea where it was. The ball landed on the warning track while a helpless Humphreys stood in his usual center field spot, and what resulted was an inside-the-park grand slam for Corona and Louisiana Tech.
GRAND SALAMI TIME… Inside-the-park style ‼️
11-4 'Dogs!@jcoronaa12 | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/JSwg0glAAt
— Diamond Dogs (@LATechBSB) June 4, 2022
Just about anybody that has played much baseball has had a helpless moment like that defensively with the sky involved, and it’s especially a nightmare scenario when it’s a big moment of a crucial game. At least in Humphreys’ case, it likely didn’t make a difference in the game outcome; Dallas Baptist trailed 7-4 entering that play and only scored one more run in the game.
While the inside-the-park grand slam was a cheapie, Corona also hit a traditional home run earlier in the game and has 15 dingers on the season:
💣 JORGE MOONSHOT 💣
Bulldogs with a 5-spot in the 5th!@jcoronaa12 | #RoadToOmaha pic.twitter.com/TqKKzdYbuH
— Diamond Dogs (@LATechBSB) June 4, 2022
[Photo Credit: ESPN+]
