Miami shortstop has heated exchange with Cal baserunner after stolen base while leading by 9

The ACC Tournament opened up with a bit of a surprise. Coming into the first game on Tuesday, the Miami Hurricanes were expected to take care of business against the 16-seed Cal Golden Bears. Except it was Cal who took it to Miami.

In the top of the seventh inning, frustrations for Miami seemed to come to the surface. PJ Moutzouridis stole second base for the Golden Bears while up 9-0. That didn’t sit well with the middle infielders for Miami, in particular shortstop Jake Ogden, who got in his face and had words about the stolen bag.

Despite the controversial stolen base that seemingly would violate an unwritten rule of baseball, the ACC Network commentators Devon Travis and Chris Cotter had no issues with it. They explained that this is a conference tournament game, and if Cal wants to go on a deep run, they’re going to need to save their pitchers. So, it makes sense to try and run-rule the Hurricanes.

“If he is, no problem there,” Travis said. “Sorry, this is the postseason. Cal, you think about all the pitching you have to go through to make a run through this entire bracket and win it all. Cal needs to win it to make the postseason. 10-run rule saves two innings worth of pitching…No problem there.”

To that point, it had been a difficult game for Jake Ogden. As Miami’s leadoff hitter, he was 0-for-3 and had a costly error in the top of the fourth inning. That half-inning ended up being a seven-run swing that put Cal up 9-0 in the first place. It was also an example for the broadcast as to how quickly things can change.

“You’re playing for the run-rule,” Cotter said. “But it’s college baseball. You could score a million runs in the matter of two or three innings of a game.”

The stolen base ended up working out exactly the way Cal hoped. A single was able to score Moutzouridis from second. That gave Cal a 10-run lead at the time. Of course, Miami was able to respond and finally broke through to extend the game a little longer. That was a point that Cotter would make, that the game isn’t over. Travis agreed that there’s never enough insurance when you’re in the lead, especially during the ACC Tournament.

“Yeah, never enough in the postseason… 100 percent,” Travis said. “Save the pitching.”

In the top of the eighth inning, frustrations continued when Cal’s Ethan Kodama was hit by a pitch from Jackson Cleveland. It didn’t appear intentional, but Kodama still had plenty to say on his way up the first base line. Umpires would then issue warnings to both sides.

Miami is currently on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. In the latest Field of 64 projections for the NCAA Tournament, Miami is listed as a three-seed that would be headed to the Auburn Regional. Cal, meanwhile, would need to win the ACC Tournament.