Softball team loses state championship on call by umpires

A general view of softballs. Kareem Elgazzar-USA TODAY Network

Softball team loses state championship on rough call by umpires

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 6/4/23

A softball team lost the state championship game on Saturday after a rough call by the umpires.

Sheldon beat Oregon City 1-0 in the Oregon 6A State Championship at Jane Sanders Stadium in Eugene. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when a wacky play happened with one out.

Sheldon’s Brooke Peterson was on first after being hit by a pitch. Her teammate Meara Sain then laid down a bunt with one out. Peterson, who was stealing on the pitch, advanced to third after a throwing error by the third baseman.

Peterson headed home after the error at first but was thrown out at the plate. Then Sain was thrown out at second for what would have been an inning-ending double play.

Sheldon wins the 6A State Championship, 1-0, over Oregon City.

Insane ending. Bottom 7, 0-0 game, 1 out. Throwing error opens the window for Peterson to go home. She's called out at home. But OC is called for interference at 3rd.

Slow motion replay in video below.#opreps pic.twitter.com/pRHlTuFMIc

— Cameron Derby (Blue Check) (@CamDerbyTV) June 3, 2023

Even though Peterson was thrown out at the plate, that’s not how things stood. Rather, the umpires convened and determined that Peterson was interfered with by Oregon City pitcher Lily Riley, who had been covering third base. The umpires then credited Peterson with the winning run due to the interference.

Peterson definitely was interfered with at third base, and it’s very conceivable that the interference played a large role in her being thrown out at the plate. Had there not been interference, the play at the plate likely would have been a lot different.

That is a brutal way for a game to end for Oregon City. The umpires made a difficult but correct call.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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