There are bad calls by umpires, and then there's what happened in a Division I college baseball game on Friday night.
The University of New Orleans held a 7-3 lead at home over Mississippi Valley State with two outs and the bases empty in the top of the ninth inning. MVSU outfielder Davon Mims was facing a 1-1 count when he took a low pitch from New Orleans' Trey Usey that was questionably called for a strike by the home plate umpire.
Mims was shocked by the call as he jumped in the air in dismay and pointed with his bat at where he believed the ball crossed the plate. But little did Mims know that he was about to get rung up on an even worse call.
The next pitch from Usey missed the plate completely and traveled through the left-handed batter's box...yet it was called for a game-ending strike three.
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A confounded Mims had words for the umpire as he walked off the field.
"Oh my gosh! Wow! He got rung up on Ball 2 and the game is over," the ESPN play-by-play broadcaster said. "Oh my goodness, that is horrific!"
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The Southland Conference announced on Saturday that the umpire has been suspended indefinitely for conduct and actions that were "detrimental" to the league.
"After a thorough review of the New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State baseball contest on March 10, 2023, the Southland Conference confirmed the home plate umpire's conduct and actions were deemed detrimental to the conference and in violation of Section 3 Character and Conduct of the CCA Mechanics Manual for Baseball," the conference said in a statement.
"As a result, the umpire has been removed from the series and has been suspended indefinitely from Southland Conference baseball games.
New Orleans routed MVSU 35-3 on Saturday, with the series between the two teams set to conclude on Sunday.
