Umpire walks off, Belle Vernon-Charleroi ‘no contest’

After a bad call at home, umpire calls the game and walks off the field after arguments and ejections during Belle Vernon-Charleroi legion game.

There was a walk-off in the PA Legion Baseball game Thursday night at Veterans’ Field, but unfortunately it did not involve either Belle Vernon or Charleroi.

In bizarre and highly controversial fashion, the walkoff came from the home-plate umpire.

After a missed call at home plate, several minutes of arguing, ejections and fans bickering back and forth, the home plate umpire called the game and simply walked out.

Where does that leave the Belle Vernon and Charleroi legion teams? The game was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

According to a league official, the game will be ruled a no contest.

After the heated discussion on the play, both managers were unavailable for comment after the game.

The play in question is a simple one to explain. With one out and a runner on third base, Charleroi’s Tyler O’Neil raced to home plate after Ben Shields hit a grounder to third.

Belle Vernon third baseman Austin Hoffman elected to throw home to get the runner, but the throw was high and clearly deflected off the catcher’s glove and went to the backstop. The umpire quickly made an out call. That’s when the chaos ensued.

Both Charleroi’s coaches went to get an explanation from the home plate umpire, and with tempers at an elevated point, Charleroi first-base coach Dave Sink was ejected from the game. The umpires did meet to discuss the play but the call stood.

That’s when Charleroi manager Luke Mollis got tossed for further arguing the egregious call. After hearing some choice words from the crowd seconds later, the home-plate umpire called the game and walked off the field followed by the second umpire.

Belle Vernon, which held a 14-0 record coming into the contest, is scheduled to end the regular season tonight at home against Colonial #3. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. at the DiVirgilio Complex.

Charleroi, which made a lengthy run last year in the state legion playoffs, will now await their fate and their opponent in the region playoffs that starts next week.

Despite the shenanigans at the end, they overshadowed a fine pitching duel between Belle Vernon’s Alex Nash and Charleroi’s Jake Beveridge.

The visitors struck early in the first inning with three runs. Charlie Nigut began the frame with a bloop single and later scored off an errant throw by Beveridge after he was trying to field a sacrifice bunt by Kole Doppelheuer.

After a double by Kaden Faychak placed runners at second and third base, back-toback RBI groundouts by Cole Matusik and Austin Hoffman increased BV’s lead to 3-0.

Charleroi trimmed the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the second when Jimmy Nash belted a sacrifice fly to right to score Spencer Behrendt.

Both teams were held scoreless in the third inning and Beveridge worked around two hits in the top of the fourth to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jace Pager reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second and then came home on a Belle Vernon throwing error.

BV loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with no outs, but Beveridge escaped the jam with a strikeout, a fielder’s choice at home plate and an infield popout.

Charleroi knotted things up at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth when an RBI single by Eddie Frizzell chased in Andrew Sprinkle. That play happened right before the questionable play at the plate that ended the contest abruptly.

Jenn Codeluppi / MVI Sports