Kingsburg holds off Washington Union, but there was a controversial call at the plate
The Central Section Division II semifinal game between No. 2 Kingsburg and No. 3 Washington was everything as expected between ace pitchers.
But towards the end of the game, the game went sideways, depending who is looking at what.
The Panthers trailed the Vikings 1-0 in the top of the seventh inning and had runners on first and second with one out.
Cole Roth hit a single to left field and Davin Finderup rounded third base and slid home and tagged out by Vaughn Dill for the second out.
Or was it?
Washington Union coach Matt Fox didn’t see it that way. He may be right.
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In video replays, it appeared Finderup reached home plate before he was tagged out in an awkward position, though the tag came from the other arm without the ball in hand.
Fox continued to argue the call and was eventually tossed by the umpire. The umpires gathered one more time and the call stood.
The Panthers’ Max Zuniga lined out to center field as Kingsburg held on for a 1-0 victory in a Central Section Division II semifinal game.
Fox declined to comment after the game.
Kingsburg coach Jim Cranford said he was watching the alignment when the play was made at the plate.
“I didn’t see any of that stuff,” he said. “I just saw a kid catch, step, tag the guy and the guy rang him up. I didn’t see anything that happened with coach Fox. I was trying to get a timeout on the field so the runner at second wouldn’t move up.”
It was anticlimactic of a game, where the stands were filled to capacity. Even fans stood on top of the football bleachers.
Vikings move on to face No. 5 Ridgeview for the championship. The game will take place at Rawhide Ballpark in Visalia at 7:30 p.m. May 30.
Kingsburg and Washington featured pitchers Jensen Hirschkorn and Trey Morris.
Hirschkorn picked up the win after pitching six solid innings and JT Sanchez picked the save.
Morris went the distance and struck out seven for Washington Union.
