Louisville ties Miami in NCAA Super Regional on controversial ruling

Louisville tied things 2-2 in the NCAA Super Regional Game 3 against Miami on what looked like a controversial call. Zion Rose scored as Bayram Hot reached on a fielder’s choice with Tague Davis being out at second base.

Davis was ruled out at second base but Hot beat the throw. However, there was a review for runner’s interference with the throw. Davis did not collide with anyone in the infield, he only deviated his path to the inside.

After review, the call was upheld and the run counted for Louisville. Otherwise, the Cardinals would’ve trailed 2-1 after the fourth inning. In what could be a turning point in the game, it was a pretty big call in a winner-take-all game.

“You can be on your feet as long as you go away from the second baseman,” color analyst Gaby Sanchez explained on the ESPN broadcast. “So you can see Davis is running, and as this throw is being made, he deviates away from the fielder. He is not going into the fielder. So because of that, they deem it that he is not blocking or he’s not intruding into that throwing lane.”

There’s sure to be some wild calls, controversy and drama in a Game 3 with a berth to the College World Series on the line. Louisville and Miami certainly delivered through four innings of action. Earlier in the game, Miami’s Galvin carried his bat down the first-base line before finally flipping it near the coaches box as the two-run shot hooked right around the right field foul pole, following a two-run home run. However, it prompted a warning from home plate umpire David Uyl.

“That’s definitely what the discussion is about,” Sanchez said earlier during the Louisville-Miami contest. “I think what he was thinking is was it going to be fair or foul when he hit that ball, and when he saw it go over (the wall) was when he flipped his bat towards that first-base bag. He gets the slider, he stays on it, he drives it to right field and you can see him looking at it, there he as the bat, and this is probably going to be one of these situations. Now he doesn’t flip it at anybody, he’s looking at the ball, he kind of flips it at that point (before rounding first base).”

Alex Byington contributed to this report