Fansided

Softball team celebrates assumed walk-off victory, loses championship

By Kaitlin McCabe

May 10, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; General view of Levine-Fricke Field during the seventh inning between the California Golden Bears and the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Golden Bears defeated the Sun Devils 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 10, 2012; Berkeley, CA, USA; General view of Levine-Fricke Field during the seventh inning between the California Golden Bears and the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Golden Bears defeated the Sun Devils 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Wylie High School softball team prematurely celebrated its championship victory while the McKinney North team scored three runs to win the game.

At the bottom of the seventh and final inning, McKinney North trailed behind Wylie 6-2 in a Texas high school district championship game. There was one out, and then another, and McKinney shortened the lead to 6-4.

With two outs, bases were loaded.

Here’s what happened:

A McKinney batter grounded on a fielder’s choice to short. Wylie’s shortstop accordingly passed the ball to the second baseman for the force out. Immediately, she began celebrating her team’s victory.

But the runner wasn’t called out.

The shortstop actually didn’t even look to confirm that her toss was made in time. It’s evident from the video, shared on Twitter, that the runner easy slid to the base before the ball was secured in the second baseman’s glove.

Wylie might have been oblivious, but the McKinney team was very much aware of what was going on in the infield. As Wylie jumped around the field in celebration, the McKinney baserunners cycled through the bases, adding more runs to their score. And by the time the supposedly winning team realized what was going on, their opponent outplayed them and mocked them to a 7-6 victory.

Wylie learned the hard way that you should always, always, always wait for the out to be called before you assume such and, well, make a fool of yourself in front of the competition.