Georgia Southern tried to hang onto a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth against Louisiana, and chaos followed. The leadoff batter took a pitch off the arm to reach first, then moved to third after a soft single to right. With no outs and runners on the corners, tensions were high. Georgia Southern got the strikeout they needed, then a grounder to third led to a close play at the plate. The third baseman fired home, the catcher made the tag, but the ump called the runner safe. The catcher tried to show the ball after the tag, but his own mask knocked it out of his glove, leading to the controversial call.
The Louisiana bench erupted, while the catcher argued he had full control before the mask interfered. Replay showed the tag came before the drop, but the ball coming loose overruled it. Still tied, Louisiana had the chance to go ahead with the winning run on second and no outs. Instead, it fell apart. A failed bunt with two strikes cost them an out, then two weak at-bats ended the threat.
In extra innings, Georgia Southern executed a perfect safety squeeze to score the go-ahead run. Their bullpen catcher, decked out with long flowing hair and all the excitement in the world, pointed in celebration as the team held on for the win. Despite nearly losing on a fluke play, they bounced back and closed it out with clean execution.