Game score changed, stats expunged in ruling over controversial CCAL baseball game
Gregori High School will lose a game in the Central California Athletic League baseball standings after a ruling made by CCAL commissioner Ed Felt, President David Sanchez and Vice President Justin Woodbridge.
The ruling came after an April 2 meeting in which the three discussed the result of the first game of a Friday doubleheader between Gregori and Turlock at Gregori High School on Friday, March 21.
At the end of seven innings, Turlock thought it had a big 5-4 win. But the reversal of a controversial balk call on Gregori took a run off the board for Turlock, forcing the first game to go into extra innings. The game ended after 11 innings in a 6-5 Gregori win, and both teams were on the field 20 minutes later for Game 2, which Gregori won, 6-2.
Now, the Bulldogs are the official winners of the first game of the day.
“In conclusion, CCAL president David Sanchez, CCAL vice president Justin Woodbridge and I, as the CCAL commissioner, rule that the game of controversy had officially ended with a final score of Turlock 5 and Gregori 4, AND this will be the official score of record for the CCAL varsity baseball standings,” Felt said in a release emailed to media Thursday afternoon.
What happened in the game
With two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning, Gregori pitcher Dominic Hernandez was called for a balk.
Hernandez said he was in the middle of his delivery when he heard someone from third base call a balk. He thought it was an umpire, so he stopped delivering the pitch. In reality, the Turlock third-base coach and head coach Mike Souza called for the balk, which was then awarded by the game official.
The winning run crossed home plate and Gregori did not score in the bottom of the seventh. Turlock celebrated the win.
This was the second game in a row the Jaguars were called for a balk late in a game. In the first game of the series two days earlier, a balk call on a Gregori pitcher put runners on second and third with two outs and Gregori ahead 7-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning. On Wednesday, a two-run triple tied the game and Turlock won in the bottom of the eighth on a walk-off, bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.
Not wanting more walk-off misfortune Friday, Gregori coach Jim Davis argued the call, saying a Turlock coach called for the balk, leading to a game official making the game-deciding call. Davis, who was thrown out of the game in the process, argued that is not allowed. Davis did not coach the final game of the series.
While players prepared for the second game, umpires were on the phone with their boss. About 20 to 30 minutes after the first seven innings ended, umpires determined the Turlock coach could not influence a balk call, resulting in a redo of the game-winning play. They went back to the top of the seventh inning, reloaded the bases and Hernandez got the final out of the seventh inning.
“In all my years of playing, I’ve never done that before,” Hernandez, a senior, said after the March 21 doubleheader.
Before the game was restarted, Souza protested the restart. “I wanted to protest because I never got an explanation of the ruling,” Souza said March 21. “We looked online, we looked in the rule book, nothing says anything about that at all.”
Hernandez pitched the rest of the game. He gave up a run in the top of the eighth inning that was immediately answered by Gregori in the bottom half. On the field, the Jaguars won the same way Turlock won Wednesday: a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch.
The CCAL higher-ups cited “CCAL GSR 160-Competition Protests,” saying game officials did not have the authority to restart an officially completed game “even if the game was being played under protest or they felt they had made an earlier mistake.”
“‘CCAL GSR 160-Competition Protests’ lists the procedures that are required to be followed for any protested contest. These procedures do not include any coach or umpire taking immediate action to rule on a game protest,” the release said. “All game protests must be in writing and submitted by the protesting school to the CCAL commissioner, CCAL president and all of the CCAL member schools’ principals.”
Everything after the seventh inning won’t matter, Felt, Sanchez and Woodbridge ruled. Turlock’s win was reinstated.
“All of the player and game statistics recorded for the unauthorized restarted game’s 8th through 11th innings should be expunged from any permanent records,” the release said.
What it all means
What follows is a change in overall and CCAL records. MaxPreps already has been notified and on April 3 made the necessary changes.
The Bulldogs’ overall record goes from 5-6-1 to 6-5-1 and the Jaguars move from 11-2 to 10-3.
Turlock is now the series winner, taking Games 1 and 2. Gregori, which originally swept the Friday doubleheader, now falls to 1-1 on the day.
Turlock is atop the league standings, with a 4-1 record. With the loss, Gregori is now in a three-way tie for second in the league standings with Pitman and Downey, which all have 3-2 records before each team plays its series finale Friday.
