Penn beats Samford after wild final play

For much of Penn’s baseball game against Samford on Saturday, it looked like the Quakers would come away with a relatively drama-free victory. Penn did ultimately win the game, but it was not drama-free.

The Bulldogs came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning trailing 5-0. But a two-run homer from Garrett Staton trimmed the deficit to 5-2 heading into the ninth inning. Stephen Klein then scored on an RBI groundout from Garrett Howe in the ninth inning to bring the score to 5-3. With two outs in the ninth inning, Samford’s Josh Rodriguez came to the plate with Josh Anderson on third base and Aaron Walton on second, as the tying run. That’s when things got interesting.

Rodriguez hit what looked like it would be a game-ending groundout to second baseman Ryan Taylor, but Taylor’s throw to first base was errant, allowing Anderson to score. But Walton turned too aggressively around third base and Penn first baseman, Ben Miller — who came off of the base to catch Taylor’s throw — ran toward third and fired to Wyatt Henseler, who caught the ball and tagged Walton. The play was reviewed but ultimately the ruling of out at third base was held up and the game ended.

Absolute circus to end Penn Samford game.

Penn Quakers are heading to Auburn regional final. First Ivy League team to win 2 games since 1997 https://t.co/Hek9IaRfoy pic.twitter.com/InEHmLmj1C

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 4, 2023

Penn, who was the fourth-seeded team in the Auburn regional, advances to the final with the win. Samford will play Southern Mississippi in an elimination game on Sunday, with the winner taking on Penn on Sunday night. The Quakers will need to win only one game, while Samford or Southern Mississippi will need to beat Penn twice.

[11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast, Photo Credit: ESPN]