NCAA denies Stetson protest of college baseball game vs. Florida

• The NCAA upheld the controversial ruling from Stetson’s baseball game against Florida.
• The call involved a new rule requiring runners to touch the orange safety bag on a play at first base.

DELAND — The result of Tuesday’s college baseball game between Stetson and Florida is finally official: The Gators are 6-1 winners.

After a controversial ruling wiped a Hatters run off the board and ended the seventh inning, coach Steve Trimper protested the game.

Wednesday night, the NCAA denied Stetson’s protest.

“While this does not come as a surprise, it is disappointing,” athletic director Ricky Ray said in a statement Thursday. “I continue to believe the rule involving the safety base was not properly adjudicated in this situation. 

“I am disappointed for our student-athletes and coaches, as well as fans of both institutions. A great night to celebrate the exceptional college baseball played in our state was overshadowed by a ruling that was added just weeks before the season.”

What caused protest of Stetson vs Florida baseball game?

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh at Melching Field, the Hatters tied the score at 2-2.

Or so they thought.

Salvador Alvarez chopped a ball off the glove of Gators pitcher Aidan King and outran the shortstop’s ensuing throw to first base, allowing Evan Griffis to trot home from third.

But UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan immediately called for a video review.

The umpires determined Alvarez committed a violation of a new rule. They deemed he stepped on the white first-base bag instead of the new orange safety bag.

As a result, Alvarez became the third out of the inning and the run did not count.

Trimper then emerged from the dugout to protest the game.

Afterward, Florida opened things up. Cade Kurland slugged a three-run homer in the eighth, and Kyle Jones tacked on an RBI single in the ninth.

What Stetson, Florida coaches said about protest

“It’s a brand-new play with a new base,” Trimper said Tuesday night. “We got a lot of rules that we’ve been practicing and practicing. I felt like we had a right right there to refer to the rulebook and follow the rules. I’m still going to look into it a little bit and see what happens.

“But there was supposed to be an appeal on that play, and they didn’t appeal to the first-base ump. That’s the way we were taught. I just want to make sure we follow the rules properly as we go forward.”

If the NCAA would have decided the umpires botched the call, the two teams would have resumed the game from the point of incident at a later date.

“The rule is the rule,” O’Sullivan said after the Gators defeated North Florida Wednesday. “Obviously, there is a lot of discussions about it. I talked to quite a few people today about it. 

“I think the most important takeaway from last night is now it at least maybe opens up some dialogue. If we need to make some changes to that rule, that’s not for me to decide. But it at least opens up some dialogue for if we need to adjust.”

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