This weekend was a big one for college baseball, as a bunch of thrilling finishes helped set the table for the College World Series — including a walk-off grand slam, and a bat flip that nearly sparked a brawl.
But the greatest highlight of the weekend came from Texas A&M’s game against TCU. As part of what is apparently an under-appreciated sports tradition, Aggie fans at Blue Bell Park broke out into a ruthless chant following a four-pitch walk surrendered by TCU’s pitcher.
Immediately following the base on balls, the crowd started chanting “ball five” repeatedly and continued with each subsequent pitch. I’m not quite sure how effective the practice is on a regular basis, but it clearly made an impact on Sunday. TCU’s starting pitcher became unquestionably rattled. After it started, he missed the strike zone badly on three-consecutive pitches, prompting the crowd to escalate in count and in loudness with each miss. By the time A&M fans got up to “ball eight,” the atmosphere was absolutely electric.
To the credit of TCU’s pitcher, though, he was able to finally throw a strike and avoid a second-consecutive four-pitch free pass, which likely would have sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy. Instead, the crowd finally relented and celebrated his strike with a Bronx cheer.
As it turns out, however, TCU and their fans got the last laugh, as the Horned Frogs were able to knock off Texas A&M in a decisive rubber match on Sunday, preventing the Aggies from reaching the CWS for the second-consecutive year. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort on the A&M fans, though. There’s no question that they did their part to hold up one of the most brutal and most awesome traditions in sports.
