Glory Days: I Missed My Chance To Win The Conference Title Because Our Third-Base Coach Got Greedy

An occasional series featuring our readers' tales of momentary sports glory. If you've got a video of your own brush with athletic greatness, send it to [email protected], subject: Glory Days.

This story comes to us from Bo. It refers to the title game of the 2009 SLIAC baseball tournament between Maryville (Mo.) and Fontbonne (Mo.). The winner advanced to the NCAA Division III championships. Bo played for Maryville. The two plays Bo refers to begin at the 2:00 mark of the video above.

This was my senior year of college in 2009. We were trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, we get a base hit, putting the tying run on first. With the winning run at the plate, my roommate blasts a ball off the right field wall, missing a walkoff home run by inches. I was on deck and had a chance to win the game with a hit, but our coach sent one of our slower players on the team all the way from first to try to score and tie the game. The right fielder picks up the ball at the warning track, turns and no look throws it towards the infield. The first baseman, sprinting toward the ball, does the same as the cutoff man—a no look fire to home plate. The catcher catches the ball and tags out our runner by almost 15 feet, ending the game and my college career. This isnt necessarily a "Glory Day" moment for me, but some of my best friends were on the team that beat us and I know it was a glory day for them, considering they were the No. 4 seed and we were the No. 2 seed.