Bat flips are all the rage in baseball these days, but this one crossed the line in the eyes of the umpire.
Drake Siens of Gustavus Adolphus College hit a homer to cut the team’s deficit to one run against against St. Olaf College, but little did he know that would be the last thing he did in the game.
The Division III matchup on Monday saw Gustavus Adolphus, which is in St. Peter, Minn., trail 5-3 in the bottom of the third inning and with Siens facing a full count.
He hit the ball to deep left field for a solo homer and watched it go over the fence before turning around to wildly throw his bat toward his team’s dugout.
As Siens touched third base to head home, the home umpire followed him to the plate with his face mask off and ejected the junior from the game.
The play-by-play announcer deemed the bat flip “minor, to say the least.”
“It’s becoming more commonplace in this game, which in my opinion is just fine,” the announcer added. “Let the kids have fun if they want to celebrate with a bat flip.”
The call comes at a time when bat flips and bat spikes are more common in the game, even on as big of a stage as the World Series.
While the Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins was known for bat acrobatics prior to the 2022 World Series, the Astros’ Kyle Tucker showed off two big bat flips in Game 1 after slamming a solo home run and later a three-run homer for Houston.
Gustavus Adolphus College’s baseball manager Brad Baker was also tossed after arguing with the umpire on the call.
The doubleheader was split against St. Olaf, as the teams shared the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Siens has posted a notable season thus far, with seven home runs and 37 RBIs. According to Sports Illustrated, he additionally leads the MIAC conference in doubles (16) and has recorded an OPS of 1.195 with a strong .394 batting average.
Gustavus Adolphus College begins the first round of the playoffs against Bethel on Thursday.
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