What happened at a high school championship baseball game in New York must be one of the most brutal losses ever recorded. That’s not hyperbole. It doesn’t matter that this was a high school game. How this at-bat ended defied the odds and left one team devastated. The teachable moment here is a quote from the late New York Yankee Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over til’ it’s over.”
The Section V regional championship between Hornell and Palmyra-Macedon was virtually over. It was the bottom of the seventh—most high schools only play seven innings—and Pal-Mac already had two outs. This last at-bat stood in the way of Hornell clinching the game. They were up 5-4.
The batter already had two strikes, though Pal-Mac had two runners on base. The third strike was called, but the batter didn’t swing. Even with the umpire calling him out, the catcher has to secure the ball or tag the runner. Hornell’s catcher didn’t do that, instead letting the ball hit the dirt, picking it up, and then dropping his glove in celebration, leading to mayhem (via Wellsville Sun):
A video originally shot by Peish Sports of Hornell’s Section V championship loss to Pal-Mac made ESPN’s SportsCenter, has over six million views and has comments from major sports media outlets.
However back in Hornell, the coach who lost the game on one of the wildest endings you will ever see, is not going to protest, does not fault the umpires, and has spent his Sunday talking to his catcher and other players about life going forward. A passed ball when the kids thought the game was over, turned a 5-4 victory into a 6-5 loss as both teams celebrated thinking they won.
“I blame myself a little, maybe I could have gone out and argued it was a dead ball and kept the runner on third and said, ‘Hey it’s tied now, put the runner on third and make them beat us.’ But we can’t blame the umpires, everyone is running on the field and I’m not sure they knew how to handle it either,” Hornell coach Joe Flint told the Hornell Sun and Wellsville Sun.
[…]
To set the scene: Hornell, the No, 4 seed, who already won on TWO last-inning walk-offs to reach the title game, had a 5-1 lead on No. 2 Pal-Mac. The lead dwindled to 5-4 with two runners on and two outs in the seventh inning. Hornell star lefty pitcher Gates Miller was at the pitch limit, meaning this was his last batter no matter what. His strike three pitch appeared to be a curve in the dirt. The batter didn’t swing. The umpire signaled out. The catcher from Hornell picked the ball up. Even though there was a runner on first, with two outs the ball has to be secured. You have to catch it or tag the runner out. With less than two outs, it’s simply an out. Confusing? Yes. But that’s baseball.
The Hornell catcher, who was the reason the team won the semifinals and his bat helped them take the lead, looked back at the umpire, was unsure of the call, looked toward first and was sure the game was over, as he appeared to tag the batter before he ran to first. You could hear in the video someone yell out. As all players do on the last out, he put the ball in his back pocket and joined his team in a mob and dog pile on the pitcher’s mound.
The Pal-Mac batter, Brady Prebalick, did not think he was touched and the ump indicated the same (the Hornell catcher had his back to the ump when the safe call originated). Prebalick raced to first (he has to touch first or he is out and the runs would not count). Meanwhile, the runners on first and second, Brennan Pipitone and Will Caffyn, raced around the base, scoring the tying and winning run.
Recommended
A “walk-off strike three” is just gut-wrenching.
Walkoff strike 3 in the state championship gotta be the worst way to lose in this history of HS baseball pic.twitter.com/z7K3TZP8IY
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 28, 2023
It’s in league with the Giants' loss to the Eagles in 2010’s Miracle at the Meadowlands from a walk-off punt return from DeSean Jackson, made even more painful by the fact that Big Blue was winning with a 31-10 lead with less than nine minutes left before the epic collapse knocked them out of the playoffs. The Giants' 39-38 loss against the 49ers in the 2002 Wild Card was controversial due to a no-call on pass interference which would have reset a potential game-winning field goal that was equally damaging. It took three years for the Giants to recover and reclaim the NFC East title. The Philadelphia Eagles last game at Veterans’ Stadium, the 2002 NFC Championship game, turned into a heartbreaker with their 27-10 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the eventual Super Bowl champions. Philly had Tampa’s number in the post-season, but not that game, leading to the worst home loss in the franchise’s history. But at the top of this heap of devastating losses is the Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51, a defeat that Atlanta has yet to recover from.
And regarding baseball, there are many chokes. The Yankees collapsed in the 2004 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox. The Cubs blew a 3-0 lead in game six of the 2003 National League Championship Series. Chicago was five outs away from returning to the World Series for the first time since 1945. This game is infamous for the Steve Bartman incident.
Hornell can be added to this list of terrible losses. Just a tough way to lose a game.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member