An amateur player in the Northwoods League made what is arguably the most heads-up play you’ll ever see this week. But “arguably” is the keyword there.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Duluth Huskies third baseman Ethan Surowiec led off second and stepped in front of La Crosse Loggers shortstop Mikey Ryan III, fielding a ground ball headed his way. It interrupted a potential double-play and kept the inning alive.
“Oh my goodness, I have never seen that on a baseball field,” exclaimed the announcer. “Ethan Surowiec picked up the baseball (and) purposefully gave himself up.”
The box score showed a “fielder’s choice 6” on the play, which is the ruling finally levied by the umpires.
Based on the result, it’s a very impressive play. However, the umpires got it wrong and should have ruled it intentional interference under Rule 6.01(a)(6), leading to both Surowiec and the batter-runner being called out with no advance.
“If, in the judgment of the umpire, a base runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead. The umpire shall call the runner out for interference and also call out the batter-runner because of the action of his teammate. In no event may bases be run or runs scored because of such action by a runner,” reads the rule, via Baseball Rules Academy.
Instead, the play was ruled a dead ball, and the bases were left loaded with two outs.
In the end, Surowiec’s savvy (or luck?) didn’t pay off. The next batter, designated hitter Paul Gutierrez Contreras, flew out to right field on an 0-1 pitch.
Despite a two-run ninth inning by the Loggers, Duluth held on to win, 5-4.
