From the thrill of victory to agony of defeat in mere seconds.
That’s what one high school baseball team in New York experienced on Saturday in a bizarre ending to a sectional championship game.
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It might not have been a state championship game, but it was still a heartbreaking way to see a season come to an end.
To view a full video of the incident, click or tap here.
Hornell High School was clinging to a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning against Palmyra-Macedon, which had a runner on second base with two outs.
With two strikes, the batter was called out after taking a called third strike. But right after originally calling the batter out, the umpire realized the catcher had dropped the ball and made a safe sign, meaning the catcher had to throw the ball down to first to complete the strikeout and officially end the game.
But Hornell players didn’t see that safe signal and started celebrating.
Meanwhile, the runner on second and the batter who was trying to reach first safely after the strikeout started racing around the bases.
While many Hornell players are seen celebrating, one Hornell infielder started to realize what was going on and was pointing toward home plate for his team to throw the ball so the Palmyra-Macedon runners wouldn’t cross the plate.
It was too late.
The Palmyra-Macedon runners crossed home plate to give their team a 6-5 win over Hornell.
After the Palmyra-Macedon batter who struck out crossed home plate with the winning run, players and coaches ran onto the field to celebrate, seemingly in disbelief that they had won. Also in shock were Hornell players and coaches, who pled their case to umpires.
The umpires then huddled up and eventually confirmed the call was right, giving Palmyra-Macedon the win.
Palmyra-Macedon advanced to a state tournament qualifier, while Hornell’s season came to an excruciating end.