Arizona and Arizona State faced off in a tight in-state baseball matchup that turned chaotic in the sixth inning. ASU led 4-3 when Arizona’s number 44 lined a ball down the third base line. It rolled into left field and past the defender, who then inexplicably froze near the fence. As the runner rounded the bases for a rare inside-the-park home run, fans were confused why the outfielder never grabbed the ball. Turns out, his cleat had gotten wedged in the fence. He put his hands up for time, hoping the ump would bail him out, but play continued and Arizona took the lead on the bizarre error.
On replay, it’s clear the runner should have been held to a double, maybe a triple. The left fielder eventually freed himself once the ump told him to move, but by then it was too late. The runner had scored and Arizona had capitalized. Later, the same outfielder came up to bat, reached base, and had a pinch runner sub in for him—maybe due to lingering discomfort from getting stuck. That runner later scored on a quick-pitch double after a denied time request, giving ASU another edge. But Arizona rallied late and won the game anyway. Despite ASU’s brief lead, the main takeaway was the rare moment of a fielder literally stuck and unable to play a live ball.