While hidden-ball tricks have become a fairly well-known gimmick these days, Clemson managed to put their own unique spin on one this week.
On Sunday, Clemson faced Coastal Carolina in the regional round of the NCAA Baseball Championship. The highlight of the game came in the very first inning following a groundout by Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine with runners on first and second. The groundball advanced both runners, setting up an excellent one-out scoring opportunity. But as the ball came around the horn to Clemson third baseman Blake Wright after the Bodine groundout, he got tricky with it.
Wright touched gloves with pitcher Ethan Darden as if he had passed the ball back to him. But as Wright casually walked back to his perch at third base (with the ball still in his glove), he noticed that the runner at third, Coastal Carolina’s Sam Antonacci, was off the bag and not paying attention. Wright quickly applied the tag, and Antonacci was called out by the third-base umpire.
Check it out.
ELITE HIDDEN BALL TRICK BY BLAKE WRIGHT pic.twitter.com/m4SPD5YL8Y
— Marc Whiteman (@MarcWYFFNews4) June 2, 2024
It didn’t even seem like Wright himself was convinced that the trick would work as he showed his hand early and pulled out the baseball before even tagging out the runner. But the runner still failed to catch on in time and thus paid the price.
The hidden-ball trick was responsible for the second out of the inning, and Clemson got the next batter to ground out as well to escape the frame with no damage. They would go on to defeat Coastal Carolina 12-5 to advance to the super regional round for the first time since 2010.
Normally with hidden-ball tricks, we see the fielders hiding the ball underneath their arm or otherwise faking an actual throw (like with this great one from earlier this year at the high-school level). But the fake glove-to-glove transfer was a new twist and worked to perfection for Clemson in Sunday’s game.
