2016 NHSI: Bingham Tops Topsail With A Wild Comeback

CARY, N.C.–Do you think you understand baseball rules? Well here’s a puzzling scenario to ponder.

It’s a tie game in the ninth inning of a consolation game Friday at the National High School Invitational. Bingham High (South Jordan, Utah) has runners on first and third with one out. Colin Gordon hits a long fly ball that Topsail High (Hampstead, N.C.) center fielder Aaron Beach runs down near the center field wall. Bingham’s Chad Wilson tags from third and scores the go-ahead run easily.

But at first base, Sean Keating has headed for second without going back to tag. Topsail tags first and the umpire signals out because Keating left early for an inning-ending double play.

So does the go-ahead run count? Wilson scored well before the third out of the inning was recorded. Or is the run waved off because the third out was a force play, negating any run that had scored preceding it?

Stumped?

The run counts. And the umpires made the right call.

The men in blue ruled that the third out was an appeal play, not a force out. As such any run that scored before the third out was recorded counts. That run proved to be the difference as Bingham completed a remarkable comeback to beat Topsail 4-3 in extra innings.

“That was a bizarre ending. I’ve never seen something that crazy,” Bingham coach Joe Sato said.

For most of the game, Bingham had hung on the precipice of being blown out and Topsail was a hit away from putting the game away.

Topsail loaded the bases in the second inning, but only scored one run. The Pirates loaded the bases again in the third but again were held to a solitary run. Topsail loaded the bases with one out in the fourth and scored no runs, then was held to one unearned run after loading the bases again in the sixth.

But even after stranding 15 runners on base in the first six innings of the game, Topsail still seemed to have the game in control. The Pirates led 3-1 with two outs in the seventh and no one on base.

But Copper Hansen battled back from two strikes to walk. Logan Leatherwood battled back from two strikes to single as well. A passed ball advanced them to second and third, setting up Wilson, who lined a 3-2 pitch for a two-RBI single to tie the game.

“That was the bottom end of our order, a couple of pinch hitters,” Sato said. “Wilson had been struggling at the plate. For him to be successful in that situation, I couldn’t be happier for him. He really came through.”

Bingham actually had its own problem with stranded runners to wrap up the seventh as Topsail’s Alex Holland induced Tate Farnsworth to fly out with the bases loaded.

Neither team threatened again until Wilson’s run in the top of the ninth. Topsail got a runner to third in the bottom of the ninth but Bridger Jensen handled the last out himself on a comebacker to complete the wild come-from-behind win.

The win was Bingham’s first win in three tries at the 2016 NHSI. Topsail fell to 1-2.