Tommy Hawke stomps on beach ball fans threw into outfield vs. LSU

Tommy Hawke hates beach balls.

The Wake Forest outfielder channeled his inner Cesaro during the third inning of Wake Forest’s College World Series matchup against LSU, stomping on a beach ball that was distracting the crowd after it fell onto the warning track.

Hawke’s spikes punctured the ball immediately and he unceremoniously stuffed the deflated ball in his back pocket to never again see the light of day.

Check out the moment below:

✅ Pop beach ball
✅ Put in back pocket
✅ Play ball! pic.twitter.com/XglqLQ0ajW

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 20, 2023

For reference, Cesaro, who is a former WWE superstar who now performs under his real name Claudio Castegnoli, ran into a WWE crowd during a match he was in back in 2017. The crowd was more interested in the beach ball than they were in the match. Cesaro took exception to this and ran into the crowd, ripping the ball before returning to the ring.

Hawke gave off that same energy.

Catch what Hawke and the Demon Deacons hope to be a comeback bid, as the LSU Tigers led Wake Forest 2-0 through four innings live on ESPN and ESPN+.

Wake Forest players say getting first Omaha win in 68 years ‘means a lot’

The top-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons have been dominant all season and took that same dominance with them to Omaha for the College World Series, defeating Stanford 3-2 in their opening game on Saturday. 

Wake Forest has had a historic season in many ways, setting program records for regular season wins, ACC wins, ACC series wins, and overall wins this year. But their win at Omaha marks their first College World Series win in 68 years, and after their big win, a handful of their players addressed the historical significance of the victory. 

“There definitely is,” Brock Wilken said. “It means a lot for us to, one, be here, and, two, to win a game. Not too many people get to be in this situation. We’re super grateful for the opportunity to even come here and get to play on this field with a bunch of great other talent surrounded — behind us. But history is not on our radar screen. We’re looking forward to the next day we play and the future.”

Wilken has played a huge part in Wake Forest’s historic season and was a major catalyst in their recent historic win. Stanford drew first blood scoring a run in the very first inning of the ballgame, but the third baseman had a quick answer in the second inning launching his 31st home run of the season as an equalizer to tie the game at 1-1.

On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.