Braden Holcomb says that he has no doubts that the ball he hit with two outs in the ninth and two runners on base was a home run, despite the overturned ruling that indicates that it was merely a ground-rule double. He’s got an eyewitness that’s backing him up, too.
Vanderbilt baseball superfan Murray Harris found the ball in the grass beyond the wall after the controversial hit and has a theory, as well.
“No doubt,” Harris told Vandy on SI in regard to the idea that Holcomb’s hit was a home run. “I have the ball and took a pic of it at the park. I thought it was gone too. The bullpen said it cleared the fence & Trackman had it going 380 and the fence in that part of the park is 366 feet. I found it at the foot of the indoor football facility out past the right field fence.”
The ball that Holcomb drove the other way went straight into the fog that completely overtook the outfield at Taylor Stadium and–per the announcers–dissappeared completely from sight. The only decipherable facts supported by the video and eyewitnesses were that the ball left the stadium, the center fielder didn’t move and the right fielder moved towards center field–indicating that the ball was hit to right-center field.
Holcomb’s timely hit was initially called a three-run homer that put Vanderbilt up 9-7 in the ninth before Friday’s game was suspended immediately after the review of the hit. The call was changed, though, to a ground-rule double that only scored one run and tied the game at 7-7. It didn’t convince Holcomb–or, as numerous sources told Vandy on SI in the moments following the controversial ending, anyone in the program–that he didn’t hit a home run.
“100% positive,” Holcomb said via a tweet, “That ball went over the fence.”
The call, if it’s not overturned, could be potentially season-altering for Vanderbilt as it works to take the first game of a series that it may need to sweep if it’s going to find a way into the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. The Commodores led Friday’s game 6-1 in the eighth before allowing Missouri to take a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning.
Vanderbilt was a Holcomb out away from falling down 1-0 in the series, but now it will fight to stay alive. The question is whether it will do that tied 7-7 or with a 9-7 lead when it resumes game action on Saturday afternoon.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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