The Washington 3A state title turned into a wild scene after what should have been a walkoff win for Mercer Island in the eighth inning —- in high school they don't play a full nine innings. Anthony Scalzo drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, but was mobbed by his teammates before he ever reached first base.
Thus, the cardinal rule of baseball celebrations was broken and it almost cost Mercer Island the title. The Seattle Times' gamer puts it differently, claiming the runner on second was actually called out for never running to third. Either way, a 20-minute delay ensued in which rulebooks were checked and protests were lodged. However, Josh Stenberg would come back in the 13th inning and hit a homer anyway to give his team the victory and prove the point moot.
And he celebrated appropriately and at the right time so as not to cost his team a state title.
I hope we all learned a valuable lesson today, and that's to never celebrate prematurely or at least until the field of play has been cleared.
