WATCH: Virginia baseball completes unconventional triple play

Virginia baseball pulled off an unconventional triple play on Sunday afternoon in the fifth inning of a 4-1 loss against Pittsburgh. Despite some confusion on how many outs the team needed, they got all three on one play to escape the inning without allowing a run to score.

Down 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Virginia faced the bases loaded and no outs. A groundball from Pittsburgh’s Bryce Hulett to Virginia third baseman Jake Gelof led to a bizarre sequence of events. Fielding the ball on the infield, he threw the ball to catcher Kyle Teel at home plate for the first force out. The catcher then turned and threw to first baseman Devin Ortiz for the second force out.

A bizarre triple play, as called on Virginia Sports Radio: pic.twitter.com/mtvyXtBuqS

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) April 17, 2022

Not knowing how many outs the team needed to escape the inning, Ortiz pumped his fist and rolled the ball toward the mound while walking toward the dugout. Noticing his error, he quickly scrambled to pick it back up as the runner who advanced from second to third decided to try running home.

The throw beat the runner and the catcher applied the tag for the third out of the unconventional triple play for Virginia.

More about Virginia baseball

Despite the loss on Sunday afternoon, Virginia baseball ranks No. 8 in the country with a 27-9 overall record and 10-8 conference record. The Cavaliers have also gone 19-2 in home games but just 6-7 in road games like the one on Sunday.

The 4-1 loss on Sunday followed an 18-0 win on Saturday. Pittsburgh managed to win the series thanks to their 9-4 win on Friday night. Virginia is scheduled to play VCU and Georgetown this week before another three-game weekend series against North Carolina at home.

Other upcoming ACC series include in-state rival Virginia Tech, Clemson and Louisville to wrap up the regular season.