Bakich speaks out for first time on ejections in wild season finale

Erik Bakich says there were some tough pills to swallow in the decisions by umps. (Photo: Ken Ruinard / USATODAY)

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, June 11 2024

After being barred from speaking after a 13th-inning ejection on Sunday, Erik Bakich finally spoke out about the close to his team's season and the three total ejections in the 11-10 loss to the Florida Gators.

First on Sunday, Clemson had to substitute its first baseman Jack Crighton after being thrown out for leaving his position on the bases after the third out and a subsequent scuffle between Florida pitcher Jac Caglianone and Clemson DH Nolan Nawrocki.

"The way it was explained to me, there are a lot of judgment calls on the field in real-time," Bakich told The Mickey Plyler Show on Tuesday, "and then you also go to the eye in the sky so to speak and what they're looking at is who off the bench or who left their position -- and somehow Jack Crighton was on second base and the check-swinging bunt happened and Jack Crighton is rounding third and on his way home -- the tag happens, the inning is over is the way I look at it, Jack Crighton continued to run, then there's a push and an altercation and then Jack Crighton takes a left turn and joins his teammates. The interpretation was he left his position on the bases to get into the altercation and he was the one solely picked out to be ejected, which that was a tough pill to swallow there."

Later on, Alden Mathes put the Tigers briefly ahead with a solo homer in the top of the 13th (Clemson was the designated visiting team for Game 2) and spiked his bat in the direction of his dugout. In the wake of the events, Mathes stayed in the game, but Bakich and Jack Leggett did not, prompting Bakich being not allowed to speak in the postgame news conference by NCAA rules.

"Yeah that was a tough one. Alden spikes his bat," Bakich said, "and this just had happened (an ejection) with Jimmy Obertop and having to sit out the next game, so we all thought that was (going to happen) and that was what they were huddling up about is to determine if Alden was going to be ejected for spiking his bat, which means he was not only ejected from that game but the next game. So I immediately ran out and said he threw it at our dugout. He spiked it at our dugout, which is, by rule, you're allowed to do it to your own dugout. You're not allowed to do it to the other team's dugout. And so they shooed me off a few times and I kind of backed up. And look, the crowd was going nuts. You couldn't hear anything -- I couldn't hear anything from our dugout because the crowd noise was so high. And one of the umpires turned and saw Coach Leggett animated, and he tossed him."

And it only got crazier from there.

"And so then, of course, Coach Leggett comes out," Bakich said, "and the crowd goes even more nuts. I kind of gave Leggett a low-five and then turned to the crowd and waved my arms to the crowd to incite the crowd and the crowd being as awesome as they are and this awesome Clemson community they are -- going nuts -- and the umpires continued to meet, and then finally they're done meeting, and they call me over to the line, and he says that Jack Leggett is ejected and he can't be yelling at the umpires from the dugout and he's also suspended for coming out onto the field. I say, 'Are we really going to suspend Jack Leggett?' He said yep, we're going to do that, and because you (Bakich) incited the crowd and waved to the crowd when he was out there as well -- you're ejected too, and he tossed me and just walked away. And so, of course, then I lost my stuff and got an additional two games for wanting to get a man-to-man, face-to-face explanation of that, but I couldn't get that.

"That's kinda how it happened. So I had already been tossed and didn't even know it from just inciting the crowd when Coach Leggett was standing out there. Usually you do (get to talk to the ump after an ejection). It was just matter-of-factly, cavalierly just, 'and you're tossed too.' Get thrown out and just turn around and walked away. Most umpires, when you get tossed, they'll give you that opportunity, and then one of the umpires will come in and tell you that's enough. And the guy did, but it was almost like too late. I had already made my way onto the field, and then he held the fingers up for two games right away, and so 'Well, at this point, screw it.' Try to get a say."

Bakich and Leggett are now set to miss the start of the 2025 season in Arlington, Texas, in a neutral-site classic, as Bakich isn't confident an appeal could come through.

"Uh maybe, I just don't know if it will do anything. We can certainly try," Bakich said of an appeal. "There doesn't seem to be any type of a oversight or overturn or anything, but we can certainly give it a shot. As it stands right now, I'll have to sit out the first two games of 2025, and so will my wingman, Jack Leggett. That was an odd (sequence of events)..."