If there is one thing we have learned over the last six decades, it is that any sporting event between Riverheads and Buffalo Gap is going to have drama. But tonight's baseball game out at the Gap may have set a new standard for weirdness. The Bison rallied from an early 4-0 hole to post an 8-6 win although many of the home fans would tell you that they actually won this one about three innings before they were finally declared victorious. Stay tuned for a wild story that you had to see to believe!
RHS batted around in the top of the first to grab that 4-0 advantage. The big base knock was a two-run triple from freshman Henley Dunlap that seemed to hang in the air forever before it finally dropped deep into the right field corner just a few feet inside the line. Not too long after that, a Bison batter also drove one down the line but it drifted foul. Little did we know that before the night was over, that same right field line and its chalk would play a huge role in the outcome of the game............
Following that early Gladiator outburst the Bison got on the board with a solo homer. Then came a truly unbelievable third inning, in which each team loaded the bases with nobody out. The Gladiators however managed to score only one run as they took a 5-1 lead into the home half of the inning.
That is when a truly bizarre sequence occurred that took 20 minutes to resolve, even though just about everyone on the field felt as if it could have been and should have been settled in 20 SECONDS. The Bison had loaded the bases and before Riverheads could record an out, they walked in a run to make it 5-2. Then came the play that turned into the biggest controversy of this game, one that you are not likely to ever see in any other game.
With the bases still loaded, a Bison batter hit one down that same very busy right field line and it rolled as deep into the corner as it possibly could have. All three runners scored and the Bison fans roared their approval, as the scoreboard now read 5-5, indicating that we had a brand new ball game on our hands.
But wait a minute........not so fast! It soon became evident that the Riverheads right fielder, along with a couple of guys who had been warming up in the bullpen, were going ballistic down in the corner, absolutely insisting that it was a foul ball.
In all the excitement of such a big play, no one could remember noticing if the home plate umpire had signaled either fair or foul and of course it had to be his call because the infield umpire would have been stationed out near second due to the bases-loaded situation and therefore not in a position to judge. So the two of them got together and started to discuss the play.
Everyone assumed that officials being what they are, the call was going to stand and that their chat was only a formality. But as the discussion stretched into 3 minutes, then 5, then the two coaches were called into it, and when the time continued to pass right on by, fans on both sides were just screaming for them to make a call and get on with the game.
Finally after 15-20 minutes, and I am not exaggerating, it became evident from the body language of the Gap coach that they were actually going to reverse the call, or decide that they had never made one in the first place. (Who knew after all that time?)
So sure enough, they took the runs off the board, sent the three base runners back to where they had been, and the game resumed with RHS still ahead 5-2. But with still no one out, the Gap was able to plate two runs and cut the lead down to 5-4. They finally tied the score in the home half of the fourth and went ahead 7-5 in the fifth.
The Gladiators kept it interesting by closing to within 7-6 before the Gap added an insurance run in the sixth to make the final 8-6. Finally the game ended after nearly three hours. But you could say that history was made because referees and umpires don't usually reverse themselves and let's face it, they did not have 12 angles of instant replay to study. So we may never know what criteria they used to finally decide that the ball was foul.
The loss was of course demoralizing to the Gladiators and their fans as they are now 1-3 in district play and have lost three in a row after opening their Shenandoah season with a 7-2 win over Staunton. However, those three losses have been by a total of five runs, so it is not exactly like these other teams are trampling them out there. So with the season only about 1/3 of the way through, there is time to right the ship and turn these close losses into victories.
RHS batted around in the top of the first to grab that 4-0 advantage. The big base knock was a two-run triple from freshman Henley Dunlap that seemed to hang in the air forever before it finally dropped deep into the right field corner just a few feet inside the line. Not too long after that, a Bison batter also drove one down the line but it drifted foul. Little did we know that before the night was over, that same right field line and its chalk would play a huge role in the outcome of the game............
Following that early Gladiator outburst the Bison got on the board with a solo homer. Then came a truly unbelievable third inning, in which each team loaded the bases with nobody out. The Gladiators however managed to score only one run as they took a 5-1 lead into the home half of the inning.
That is when a truly bizarre sequence occurred that took 20 minutes to resolve, even though just about everyone on the field felt as if it could have been and should have been settled in 20 SECONDS. The Bison had loaded the bases and before Riverheads could record an out, they walked in a run to make it 5-2. Then came the play that turned into the biggest controversy of this game, one that you are not likely to ever see in any other game.
With the bases still loaded, a Bison batter hit one down that same very busy right field line and it rolled as deep into the corner as it possibly could have. All three runners scored and the Bison fans roared their approval, as the scoreboard now read 5-5, indicating that we had a brand new ball game on our hands.
But wait a minute........not so fast! It soon became evident that the Riverheads right fielder, along with a couple of guys who had been warming up in the bullpen, were going ballistic down in the corner, absolutely insisting that it was a foul ball.
In all the excitement of such a big play, no one could remember noticing if the home plate umpire had signaled either fair or foul and of course it had to be his call because the infield umpire would have been stationed out near second due to the bases-loaded situation and therefore not in a position to judge. So the two of them got together and started to discuss the play.
Everyone assumed that officials being what they are, the call was going to stand and that their chat was only a formality. But as the discussion stretched into 3 minutes, then 5, then the two coaches were called into it, and when the time continued to pass right on by, fans on both sides were just screaming for them to make a call and get on with the game.
Finally after 15-20 minutes, and I am not exaggerating, it became evident from the body language of the Gap coach that they were actually going to reverse the call, or decide that they had never made one in the first place. (Who knew after all that time?)
So sure enough, they took the runs off the board, sent the three base runners back to where they had been, and the game resumed with RHS still ahead 5-2. But with still no one out, the Gap was able to plate two runs and cut the lead down to 5-4. They finally tied the score in the home half of the fourth and went ahead 7-5 in the fifth.
The Gladiators kept it interesting by closing to within 7-6 before the Gap added an insurance run in the sixth to make the final 8-6. Finally the game ended after nearly three hours. But you could say that history was made because referees and umpires don't usually reverse themselves and let's face it, they did not have 12 angles of instant replay to study. So we may never know what criteria they used to finally decide that the ball was foul.
The loss was of course demoralizing to the Gladiators and their fans as they are now 1-3 in district play and have lost three in a row after opening their Shenandoah season with a 7-2 win over Staunton. However, those three losses have been by a total of five runs, so it is not exactly like these other teams are trampling them out there. So with the season only about 1/3 of the way through, there is time to right the ship and turn these close losses into victories.
