Louisville pitcher receives lengthy suspension for saying ‘That’s horrible’ to an umpire
By Adam Spencer
Published:
On Sunday afternoon, Louisville closer Michael McAvene thought he’d shut the door on a 9-7 victory for the Cardinals.
Instead, a pitch that looked like it was called a strike was instead called a ball by the home plate umpire, prompting McAvene to say “That’s horrible.”
Now, he’ll have to sit out the next four games, since his ejection for “disputing an umpire’s decision” carries an automatic four-game ban, per NCAA rules:
Ridiculous action taken, but that's the statement I expected from the @NCAA. RT@jdemling: NCAA’s statement pic.twitter.com/XRZRoQez4q
— KentuckySportsReport (@MyKSR1) June 2, 2019
“The Louisville pitcher was ejected in the bottom of the ninth inning with 2 outs for ‘disputing an umpire’s decision and unsportsmanlike conduct directed at the home plate umpire,'” the statement reads. “‘The in-game ejection for a pitcher carries an automatic four (4) game suspension.’ The rule reference is Rule 2-26-e on page 24 of the NCAA Baseball Rule Book. This is also listed on line 3 of the Misconduct chart on page 25.”
Here’s the incident below, in case you missed it:
Louisville closer just got tossed from the game for saying “that’s horrible” to the umpire. What a joke #NCAA pic.twitter.com/oedQhzjyU3
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) June 2, 2019
Now, if Louisville advances, McAvene might not be available for the super-regional round or the first couple of games in the College World Series, should the Cardinals make it that far.
What do you make of the decision from the umpire?
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
