The University of St. Thomas baseball team received national media coverage following a historic 21-inning game against Northern Colorado, the longest in Summit League history. The marathon matchup, which stretched across two days due to weather and darkness delays, drew attention for its endurance, unusual finish, and place among the longest games in Division I history.
From Sports Illustrated:
College baseball got weird on Saturday thanks to a game that actually started on Friday. Northern Colorado beat the University of St. Thomas, 8-7, on a walk-off balk in the longest game in Summit League history.
The game, which lasted 21 innings, was also the eighth-longest game in Division 1 baseball history.
After multiple days the game regrettably ended with a balk. Senior Nolan Kemp was on the mound with two outs and the bases loaded when he came set on a 2-2 pitch and was called for the violation. It’s a brutal way to give up a run, let alone lose a game. When it happens just one strike away from the 22nd inning ... that’s unfortunate.
From New York Post:
A 21-inning college baseball game that took more than 24 hours to complete ended in controversial fashion.
University of St. Thomas, which was playing as the road team at home in St. Paul, Minn., against Northern Colorado as part of a makeup game, lost 8-7 on a walk-off balk called against pitcher Nolan Kemp on Saturday afternoon after the game started Friday and was suspended after 11 innings due to darkness.
The bases were loaded with two outs and a 2-2 count to Northern Colorado DH Brien Kenny when Kemp was called for the balk, allowing the winning run to trot home in the bottom of the 21st inning.
From MLB.com:
There are marathon ballgames, and then there’s whatever happened here.
Let’s paint a picture. Yesterday, the University of St. Thomas Tommies and the University of Northern Colorado Bears settled in for your standard Friday afternoon baseball game. First pitch took place, as scheduled, at 3 p.m. local time.
Sorry, did we say “standard”? That was inaccurate. The Bears won that game by a score of 8-7 – 21 innings (and over 24 hours) later. Via a walk-off balk.
Why yes, that is a lot of information to be hit with all at once. Down 5-4 in the top of the ninth, the Tommies pushed a run across to force extras, effectively getting everyone into this mess. They played on until they reached the 11th inning, at which point the game was suspended due to daylight.
From USA Today:
The eighth-longest game in Division I baseball history ended in controversy.
In the bottom of the 21st inning, Northern Colorado earned an 8-7 walk-off win over St. Thomas (Minnesota) on a balk called with the bases loaded and two outs on Saturday, April 18, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Northern Colorado and St. Thomas began the first game of The Summit League series at noon local time on Friday, April 17. However, the game was suspended after 10 innings due to daylight and resumed on Saturday at noon MT.
Home plate umpire Lance Vaughn called a balk on pitcher Nolan Kemp with the bases loaded and two outs, allowing Ethan Mooser to score from third base for the winning run.
The 21-inning contest was tied for the eighth-longest game in D-I Baseball history. The victory helped the Bears improve to 8-29, while the Tommies fell to 6-24.
