The UCLA Bruins have finally captured their first-ever Big Ten tournament championship after beating the Oregon Ducks, who fell to the Bruins in the 11-inning thriller that ended as one of the most dramatic finishes in baseball’s recent history. The celebratory moment has now quickly turned divisive, as many fans have raised questions on the umpire’s decision regarding the walk-off hit-by-pitch call that gave UCLA its win.
Sunday’s match at the Charles Schwab Field in Omaha saw the top-seeded UCLA Bruins enter the tournament as the No. 1 team in the country, while Oregon had to fight its way through the brackets to make it to this anticipated matchup. After hours of gritty action, in the 11th inning, things took a wild turn.
UCLA had its bases loaded, with Phoenix Call at the batter’s plate. As the innings progressed, Oregon’s pitcher Devin Bell pitched the ball very close to Call’s head, which appeared to have grazed Call’s helmet, prompting the umpire to rule a hit-by-pitch. This automatically forced a run for the Bruins, and as soon as the call came in, Roman Martin, standing on third base, made the move for the winning score. Although the call was checked, it was eventually ruled in favor of the UCLA batter…