Fort Worth Regional Mired in Upset and Controversy

from the Fort Worth Comet-Wire

It wouldn't be Division IV baseball if there wasn't at least some controversy heading into the next round of postseason play. As all across the country a handful of teams celebrated advancing to the super regionals, many more ended their seasons disappointed and upset, and perhaps none more so than UT Fort Worth. The Wranglers looked to be well on their way to a third straight super regional appearance when a bad call at first by umpire Richie Coco abruptly halted their plans. There were two outs in the bottom of the ninth and UT Fort Worth was trailing 3-4 with two runners in scoring position. UTFW third baseman Dallas Boulevard was up to bat, and with a 3-1 count, hit a sharp liner between second and short, surely winning the game for the Wranglers as the two base runners came home.

However, as Boulevard was sliding into second base, the throw came into first and he was called out after Coco ruled that the throw had beaten the runner, thus ending the game. Wrangler head coach Auger Guido came flying out of the dugout to contest the ruling on the field. After his ejection, a massive brawl broke out between the two teams which lasted well over two hours and resulted in multiple hospitalizations including players treated for blunt force trauma, gunshot, and stabbing wounds. The fan was hospitalized after being struck by an errant baseball when an assistant coach from Bonneville began shooting balls from a pitching machine at opposing players. It is unclear whether there will be any suspensions or not.

After viewing the replay which clearly showed that Boulevard was not only safe at first, but was actually safe at second too, Coco still maintained that he "called it as he saw it" and that "the right team won". Guido and the Wranglers protested the ruling on the field based on video evidence and on the grounds that according to the Texas DMV, the state in which Coco is from, that he is legally blind. The NCAA Division IV office denied the protest stating that sometimes "baseball is a game of feet... or yards, and not just inches". Bonneville will advance to play Joliet State as the three seed in the opening game of the Slidell super regional.