On Monday night, the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers met up for a Super Regionals matchup to decide who would go on to the College World Series. And since that game was going to be the final one of the season for one of the two teams, no one was holding anything back. And apparently, that includes trick plays.
With the game tied at 1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Florida Gators had guys on first (Nick Horvath) and third (Blake Reese) with two strikes on the batter and two outs, when they decided to break out the old razzle-dazzle.
Horvath, leading off from first, broke for second at the exact same time Reese takes off for home. But the pitcher, a lefty, had his eyes glued on the runner at first, because after a few short steps, Horvath purposefully fell flat on his face, distracting him long enough for Reese to score under the tag.
Check it out:
https://twitter.com/NCAACWS/status/1006345156600008704
Here’s a better angle of the trickiness (and might I add *perfect* timing) in action:
Upon further review…
This is absolutely amazing. pic.twitter.com/iDCCzYGVJO
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 12, 2018
That is an absolutely killer trick play, executed to perfection. And the fact that they did it on such a big stage, in such an important game is even cooler. More importantly, that run mattered quite a bit, as the game was forced into extra innings with a 2-2 tie that wasn’t broken up until the bottom of the 11th.
Heart-Breaking Walk-Off Homer *Bounces Off* the Right Fielder, Sending Florida to the College World Series https://t.co/cRvNCUFfc6 pic.twitter.com/IGickgCJ2V
— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) June 12, 2018
Seriously. Needless to say, it was a rough day for the Tigers and a ridiculously memorable one for the Gators, who are off to the College World Series.