In an Ohio High School Division IV game between Fort Recovery and Marion Local High school, one of the most bizarre plays you will ever see on a baseball field happened. Besides tee ball, not too often, or ever, are you able to witness a center fielder tagging out a baserunner at home plate, who was trying to get an inside-the-park home run.
During the top of the sixth inning, with his team winning 11-3, Fort Recovery's Caden Grisez popped a ball up in the shallow part of the outfield, which dropped in between the shortstop, second baseman, and center fielder. After the ball fell to the ground, Griffin Bruns, who was playing center, was the one who picked it up... and the rest of the play was just a result of heart and determination, as you can see in the video below.
Have you ever seen a center fielder tag someone out at home plate? Well here you go! pic.twitter.com/MORPFxt5Tp
— WOSN Sports (@WOSNScores) May 25, 2024
Center fielder Bruns saved his team from conceding a 12th run to Fort Recovery, but many might be confused as to what went so wrong leading to this never-before-seen turn of events. First off, Marion Local's defensive misalignment was a mess, as it all started with the third baseman going over to cover an empty second base lackadaisically, and by the time he got there, the runner was already going for third.
The catcher then ran down the third baseline way too late, and neither the pitcher nor first baseman thought to cover home, so Grisez was thinking he was going to have an easy chance to score. However, he totally underestimated the speed of Bruns, who like a lion chasing a gazelle for dinner, turned on the jets and pursued Grisez, which resulted in a bang bang play at home plate.
How about that runners IQ
— Caden Grisez (@CadenGrisez) May 25, 2024
As Grisez was ruled out trying to stretch his pop up into a home run, he was still awarded a triple in the scorekeeping books, and when you look at his stats, he certainly may have been MVP of the district championship. In addition to being 3-4 with one run scored and two RBI's at the plate, Grisez was also the starting pitcher, pitching seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings.
When looking at the infamous play, some even said that Grisez shouldn't have been called out, due to a couple players from Marion Local apparently getting in his way while he was running the bases. Although, calling obstruction to the baserunner would have ruined the ESPN worthy highlight hustle play by Bruns, which has since went viral.
In view of eight defenders standing around watching their center fielder chasing a baserunner all the way to home plate, this may have been the perfect example of not trusting your teammates and saying, "fine, I'll do it myself."
Related: Umpires End The Game With An Unbelievable Ruling
