Alabama hitting coach ejected after controversial call leads to go-ahead Wake Forest home run

A controversial non-strike call in a hotly contested Winston-Salem Super Regional contest between Alabama and Wake Forest led to tempers flaring an ejection.

The controversy began on a check swing by Wake Forest designated hitter Danny Corona on an 0-2 count with two outs. Video appeared to show Corona crossing the plane with his swing, but the umpires ruled it a ball.

That led to some shouts from the Alabama dugout, unhappy with the call that could have ended the inning in a 3-3 game.

On the very next pitch, Corona smacked a Luke Holman pitch over the right field wall for a solo home run, giving the Demon Deacons the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. As he rounded the bases, tempers flared in the Alabama dugout and wild shouting between fans and the dugout ensued.

During the chaos, Alabama hitting coach Matt Reida was ejected. D1Baseball writer Aaron Fitt noted that it appeared Reida was tossed by the third base umpire, all the way across the field from the Alabama dugout.

A missed check swing for strike 3 results in a Daniel Corona homer just moments later 😬

Also, somebody on Alabama’s staff was ejected from the dugout as Corona was rounding the bases pic.twitter.com/BaoSlPubGi

— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) June 10, 2023

Alabama had ample cause to be upset, given the angle of the checked swing showed on the ESPN+ broadcast replay.

In any case, the Crimson Tide will have to try to regroup, now trailing the Demon Deacons by a run in the Winston-Salem Super Regional opener.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to get underway at The Couch in the Winston-Salem Super Regional, either.

On the very first pitch of the game, Wake Forest center Fielder Tommy Hawke took Holman deep to right field for a solo home run.

The Demon Deacons would add another solo shot to start the second inning, as well, when second baseman Justin Johnson jumped on a Holman pitch and blasted it to right center field, making it 2-0. Another run scored a few minutes later when a Holman wild pitch allowed right fielder Pierce Bennett to come home.

Alabama began to answer in the third inning of the Winston-Salem Super Regional.

Center fielder Caden Rose got the Crimson Tide on the board with a solo home run to left field on an 0-2 pitch. Alabama would plate a couple more in the fourth inning, evening the game at 3-3.

Designated hitter Dominic Tamez drew a walk, then third baseman Colby Shelton hit a two-run homer to right field to bring them both home.

The game was in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Wake Forest leading 4-3, at the time of this writing.