Dragons starter Jayvien Sandridge walked the first three Loons to load the bases. Then the Dragons turned the first triple play in club history to end the inning. Or did they? Officially the play will live on as a triple play. But why was it a triple play?
First, here’s what happened with the bases loaded. Great Lakes DH Griffin Lockwood-Powell popped up into shallow right field, and the plate umpire invoked the infield fly rule. The validity of that call is not in question. However, the wind pushed the ball beyond the reach of second baseman Jose Serrano, and it landed in the grass. Confusion ensued.
Heck of a way to pick up the first triple play in @DragonsBaseball history. pic.twitter.com/OjAEwLwLYB
— TR Amrine (@tr_amrine) April 16, 2023
By rule the batter is out and baserunners may advance at their own risk without being required to tag up. When the ball landed, the runners advanced and Austin Gauthier scored from third. Dragons right fielder Blake Dunn picked up the ball and threw it back to the infield. Loons baserunners were tagged while standing on second and third.
Suddenly the umpires were saying there were three outs and the inning was over. Dragons catcher Mat Nelson went around the infield tagging baserunners as they began to walk off the field. Loons manager Daniel Nava began to argue with home plate umpire Guillermo Rodriguez. But the call stood: triple play.
An official scorer visited the umpires locker room after the game and reported that the runners were called out for abandonment. However, it appeared as the Loons’ baserunners left the bases it was clear to everyone that they had already been called out.
“There never was total clarification,” Nava said. “They just communicated to me that there were outs that were made, but I was never told which and who and where. It was just a big mess.”
The run Gauthier scored didn’t go on the scoreboard. However, before the start of the second inning the umpires called upstairs and said the run counted for a 1-0 Loons lead. Somehow Gauthier was permitted to advance, but the other runners were not.
“Everyone, at the end of the day, wanted the play to be done right,” Nava said. “On all fronts it could have been handled better, myself included. I talked to the umpire behind home plate, and we both admitted that there’s some things we both could have done better. I should have had my guys stay on the base until we had clarification of the play.”
But, as Nava said, the clarification never came.
“I don’t know how the guys get called out when they advanced at their own risk, there was an infield fly and the ball’s dropped,” he said. “So they should have still been there. Nonetheless, we’re just grateful that it didn’t actually impact the overall outcome of the game.”
The Dragons had seven hits but could never get a rally going. The Loons added on with single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and ninth innings. Damon Keith led off the fifth with a home run and pinch-hitter Ismael Alcantara led off the ninth with a homer.
The Dragons (3-6) head to West Michigan for a six-game series. They return home April 25 for six games against Lake County.
TUESDAY’S GAME
Dayton at West Michigan, 6:35 p.m., 980
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