One New Jersey high school baseball team is infuriated after a controversial call in Wednesday’s state tournament game between Northern Highlands and Mount Olive.
In the top of the seventh, Northern Highlands appeared to have hit a game-tying three-run home run, but it was voided when Mount Olive protested to the home plate umpire, who ruled the runner on first base had not touched home plate and called him out. NJ.com reported.
This negated three potential runs and resulted in the final out of what would have been a home run, giving Mount Olive a 3-0 victory.
In this sequence of footage, it is difficult to determine definitively whether the runner on first base touched home plate.
In a video posted by NJ.com, runners on second and third base could be clearly seen hitting the home run, including senior Beckham Stern, who hit the home run.
“I feel bad for our kids, especially our seniors,” Northern Highlands head coach Paul Albarella told the outlet. “It’s unfortunate that the game ended because of a technical issue. I’m very proud of our team for how persevering they have been all season.”
The game was being played as part of the NJSIAA North Jersey Group 1 State Tournament, and the state’s high school sports governing body was aware of the controversy that erupted Wednesday.
“Per the rules, the play in question cannot be appealed,” an NJSIAA spokesperson told NJ.com.
Some time passed before Mount Olive seemed ready to play.
As the Mount Olive catcher stepped to the pitcher’s mound, Northern Highlands players celebrated what they saw as a game-changing moment, before the team’s coaches and the rest of the fielders gathered on the mound.
An appeal was eventually made and when the umpire changed the decision, the Northern Highlands batter walked to home plate ready to continue playing.
“He completely went over home plate and missed it by about three feet,” Mount Olive coach Zoccolilo told NJ.com on Thursday. “The umpire was standing right there and he saw it. He saw it. And the umpire saw everyone touch home plate and the kid went over home plate. So the second kid came around and the third kid came around and I protested. Everybody saw it. Me, the spectators, everybody saw the kid completely go over home plate.”
Video showed Albarella lunging at the umpire to dispute the call and Zoccolilo said the Northern Highlands manager was ejected from the game.
Albarella and the umpires were seen having heated conversations, and at times the coach had to stop his players from talking to the umpires.
Wednesday wasn’t the first time a New Jersey high school playoff game has been mired in controversy.
Over the winter, a high school basketball game between Manasquan High School and Camden High School made national news due to a controversial call in which a Manasquan High School score in the final seconds of the game was overturned in a state playoff game.
