In baseball, fans are used to seeing either close games or blowout victories that reach double digits. It is pretty rare for a team to score over 20 runs in a game, especially at the major league level. But what about 20 runs in an inning?
On Tuesday, the George Mason Patriots faced off against the Holy Cross Crusaders. In the second inning, George Mason scored 23 runs! And they did so without hitting a single home run! George Mason went on to win the game 26-6.
George Mason officially broke an NCAA record for most runs scored in an inning. The previous record was held by Penn State (1983), Wichita State (1984), and Valparaiso (2010).
George Mason scored 23 runs in an inning, breaks NCAA record
George Mason forced Holy Cross to use five different pitchers in that second inning. Most of the damage was done after Holy Cross walked eight batters and hit five batters. Add in six singles, five doubles, and three errors, and you get 23 runs scored.
George Mason scored 23 runs in the second inning. After the first guy got out they went: walk, walk, single, single, HBP, double, single, HBP, throwing error, double, walk, HBP, walk, walk, double, single, HBP, double, fly out, walk, double, single, walk, walk, single, out at 3rd https://t.co/2sBtJO0CbY
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) March 4, 2025
19 batters reached base in a row before a fly out for the second out of the inning. Talk about a brutal rundown on the box score, especially if you are Holy Cross.
So what was the record for most runs scored in an inning in an MLB game? According to the Elias Sports Bureau (h/t MLB.com's Brian Murphy), the most runs scored in an inning by an MLB team was the Boston Red Sox on June 18, 1953, when they scored 17 runs in the seventh inning in a 23-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.
All records are meant to be broken, but how long will we see a team score 24 runs in an inning? If it does happen, can they do it without hitting a single home run? That is the true challenge.