Baseball Diamond Blowout

The box score of the game between Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky State looked like a misprint. If you were to see it in the newspaper the next day, you would swear that the editor must have missed something. Or maybe it was just some April Fool's joke that the fine people at Eastern Kentucky were playing on the newspaper.

But this was no laughing matter. Okay, maybe it was.

According to an article of foxsports.com, Eastern Kentucky put up 22 runs against Kentucky State in a baseball game - in the first inning. EKU ended up winning the game 49-1, a game called after only five innings of play. According to the article:

"After Kentucky State (2-16) got a run in the top of the first, EKU scored 22 times in the bottom half. EKU scored five times in the second inning and 19 more runs in the third, and finished with 38 hits including five home runs."

The teams were scheduled to play a second game in the doubleheader, but the game was canceled. And in an act of pure class, the EKU website held out the final score and game details in their recap. The really outstanding statistics came from the pitching staff of KSU, which produced nine errors.

According to the article, "Freshman Kendall Wilson started for Kentucky State and allowed 13 runs - albeit only four of them earned - while getting only one out. Reliever Jamaal Duncan didn't fare much better, surrendering 25 runs - 14 of them earned - in 2 1-3 innings."

And perhaps you were wondering if this was the largest defeat in Division I history, but oh the contrary. Kentucky State is a Division II school, eliminating it from being able to consitute as a Division I game. However, this blowout doesn't even hold the jock strap of the largest defeat in DII history, as St Francis defeated Robert Morris 71-1 in a game in 1996. 71-1!

My question is, how do you even let it get that bad? How can you let the other team score 71 times, let alone not even call the game. I applaud the officials who decided to call the game after five innings to avoid further embarassment to those kids from Kentucky State. Also, a pat on the back to EKU for calling the second game and not requesting a forfeit.

In another story of class from a university, it is buried by the final score and all that caught my attention was the 49-1 score. And that's all that people will care about. As for the Kentucky State pitching staff, perhaps they will bounce back and have great seasons.

Or maybe they should stick to teeball.