Chris Pollard ejected after coming face-to-face, losing it on umpire vs Wake Forest

Duke baseball coach Chris Pollard was ejected from Sunday’s game against Wake Forest after leaving the dugout to argue with the home plate umpire. The incident occurred after Blue Devils pitcher Owen Proksch was called for a ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The umpire appeared to step past home plate and yell something in the direction of Proksch after the pitch. That’s when Pollard came onto the field and got in the face of the official. The two exchanged a few words before Pollard was thrown out.

You can view the moment below.

Chris Pollard gets tossed after arguing balls and strikes. Proksch vs Seaver King with game on the line. 🔥🔥

Things are getting FEISTY in this rubber game with Duke leading Wake Forest by 1 pic.twitter.com/NdHontmvPA

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) March 10, 2024

The ejection occurred at a critical point in the game as Duke was clinging to a 9-8 lead with the tying run on third base. Ultimately, Proksch was able to strike the batter out and get the Blue Devils out of the inning with the lead still in hand.

Duke went on to add to its lead in the ninth inning when Alex Stone singled to bring home Wallace Clark and make it 10-8. That would end up being the final score as Charlie Beilenson closed out the game at pitcher, striking out the final three batters to secure the save.

As a whole, the Blue Devils played seven pitchers who combined for 13 strikeouts on the day. Kyle Johnson got the start and pitched the first four innings, while Jimmy Romano picked up the win. Ben Miller and AJ Gracia tied for the team lead with two hits apiece.

After falling behind 1-0 in the first inning, Duke answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second to take its first lead of the day. Ultimately, it would never relinquish it despite several pushes from Wake Forest. When Duke scored six runs in the fifth inning to go up 9-2, the Demon Deacons answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Still, the Blue Devils managed to hang on thanks to some clutch pitching down the stretch.

Duke earned the 2-1 series win over the No. 1 Demon Deacons after splitting the first two games on Friday and Saturday. It improved to 13-2 (2-1 ACC) on the young season and are sure to move up in the polls this week after their impressive showing on the road.

Next up for Duke and Chris Pollard is a two-game series with Rider on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, the Blue Devils prepare for the second ACC series of the season over the weekend against Clemson.