CLEMSON — Clemson losing to the Florida Gators in the Clemson Super Regional this past weekend had nothing to do with the umpires.
The Tigers lost because Florida was the better team, and anyone who watched both games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium should not argue that point. However, the fact the Gators were the better team and won, should not overlook how incompetent the umpires were in Game 2 on Sunday.
The NCAA should be embarrassed with how bad its crew of Billy Van Raaphorst (crew chief and first base umpire), Greg Harmon (home plate), Tim Cordill (second base) and Scott Letendre (third base) handled the game and especially the 13th inning.
It all started in the middle of the second inning when the NCAA tossed Clemson first baseman Jack Crighton after an 18-minute delay supposedly “for leaving his position on the field” because he went to the site of the potential altercation.
The altercation was between Florida’s Jac Caglianone and Clemson’s Nolan Nawrocki. Neither were tossed nor were the several Florida and Clemson players who came out of their dugouts or the entire Florida infield that left their position and ran towards the site of the altercation.
But that whole situation is on the NCAA, it made the judgement to toss Crighton. The umpires, however, gave both benches unsportsmanlike warnings.
However, it appeared those warnings only applied to Clemson. When Florida catcher Brody Donay was chirping to Clemson centerfielder Cam Cannarella, as he was rounding the base pads following his two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, Van Raaphorst did not call an umpires meeting and discuss if Donay was being unsportsmanlike.
When Gators right fielder Aston Wilson hit his two-run bomb in the bottom of the eighth inning to give his team a 9-6 lead at the time and flipped his bat towards the Clemson dugout, Van Raaphorst did not call an umpires meeting and discuss if Wilson was being unsportsmanlike.
No, he let things play out, which at the time was okay. Emotions are high. No one wanted the umpires to stop the game whether you liked their antics or not.
However, after playing for almost five hours, the umpires decided to stop the game when Clemson’s Alden Mathes launched a bomb to right field that hit off the batting cages in the top of the 13th inning to give Clemson a 10-9 lead at the time.
They stopped the game because Mathes slammed his bat into the ground in front of the Clemson dugout in celebration with his Clemson teammates. He did nothing that warranted a stoppage of play, considering what the two Florida players had already done.
And, again, let me clarify, I did not think the Florida players did anything worth a stoppage, either.
The whole situation from that point was handled wrongly by Van Raaphorst. Why did he huddle his crew right in front of the Clemson bench?
He blamed Clemson head coach Erik Bakich for inciting the crowd. Well, Van Raaphorst incited the Clemson dugout by meeting right in front of it. He could have gone over and met on the Florida side of the field.
Instead, he chose to meet in front of the Clemson dugout, knowing the Clemson dugout was mad, in particular Jack Leggett. It’s almost as if he wanted to toss somebody from the game.
The funny thing is Van Raaphorst’s crew decided Mathes did nothing wrong and allowed him to stay in the game.
Leggett and Bakich were both tossed and suspended for their actions and Van Raaphorst and his crew have not received any punishment. They literally killed Clemson’s momentum at that point.
Bakich and Leggett are suspended for two games for failing to obey Van Raaphorst’s warnings. Well, in my opinion, Van Raaphorst and his crew should be suspended for at least two games, as well.
They did a horrible job managing the situation and did not show fair and balanced judgement based on how they handled the 13th inning or the entire game for that matter.
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