Sometimes, a nightmare can become reality.
For Northern Highlands - the 10th seed in the NJSIAA North Jersey 1, Group 3 state tournament - that just happened.
Trailing 3-0 on Wednesday, with two outs in the top of the seventh inning against seventh-seeded Mount Olive, Highlanders senior Beckham Stern smashed what appeared to be a game-tying home run, sending his teammates into a frenzy.
Northern Highlands celebrated for a moment - and then it all came crashing down.
Game video, included here, shows that after a timeout and a visit to the mound by a Mount Olive coach, Mount Olive appealed to the home plate umpire, who called out the first Highlands runner to have come around the bases.
The umpire ruled the runner didn’t touch home plate. The call made that out the third out of the inning, nullifying all runs on the play, and the game was immediately over, a 3-0 victory for Mount Olive.
“I just feel bad for the kids, especially the seniors,” Northern Highlands head coach Paul Albarella said. “It’s a shame that the game had to end on a technicality. I am very proud of my team for their resiliency all season.”
The video shows the runner clearly touching his right foot down in the vicinity of the plate as he lands from a joyful jump, but it is not clear from the camera angle whether he touches part of the plate or does not quite touch it. Immediately afterward, the umpire looks toward the Mount Olive catcher and dugout. The catcher then immediately jogs out to the pitcher’s mound. Mount Olive head coach Pete Zoccolillo said Thursday that no information was given to their catcher from the umpire.
“No. No. Nothing at all. He (the umpire) didn’t say a word,” he said.
Some 88 seconds after Stern crosses the plate, after a mound visit by a coach and the whole infield, then some apparent hesitation and apparent consultation with the ump about how to make an appeal play, Mount Olive’s pitcher tosses it to his catcher, sparking the out call.
During those 88 seconds, everyone on the field appeared to believe the game would continue. Albarella spoke to his next batter, who dug into the box to ready himself for the at-bat. Mount Olive players, except for the pitcher and catcher, did nothing unusual prior to the call.
Albarella ran to the umpire afterward to argue the call and was soon ejected, according to Zoccolillo, after a heated confrontation, where Albarella had to restrain players from confronting the umpire.
“He completely jumped over home plate and missed by like three feet,” Zoccolillo said Thursday. “The umpire was standing right there and he saw it. He saw it. And he was watching everybody touch home, and the kid jumped over home plate. So the second kid came around and the third kid came around, so I appealed it. Everybody saw it. Myself, the crowd, everybody saw the kid completely jumped over home plate.”
NJSIAA spokesman Mike Cherenson told NJ Advance Media by email Thursday, “We are aware of the situation. As per the rules, the play in question is not appealable,” referring to NJSIAA policy that judgement calls are not subject to appeal.
Luis Torres contributed to this report.
PJ Potter covers North and Central Jersey baseball.
PJ Potter may be reached at PPotter@njadvancemedia.com.
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