Umpire pushes ECU baseball player to start running after hitting three-run HR

It turns out  MLB umpires aren’t the only umpiring group that needs a reality check in 2022. College umpires aren’t faring much better.

The East Carolina Pirates are in search of their first men’s College World Series berth in program history, and Monday’s 13-4 win over Coastal Carolina to clinch the Greenville Regional put them on track to potentially reach that goal. No moment seemed bigger than Bryson Worrell’s three-run home run in the seventh inning.

After Worrell — with a green light on 3-0 — crushed a pitch over the right-field wall, he stood and admired the ball before flipping his bat. But as he was doing so, home plate umpire Perry Costello pushed Worrell to start running.

There’s really no reason for that, and an umpire should never be going out of his way to place his hands on a player. If Worrell had done something similar to an umpire, he would have been ejected immediately (and possibly suspended). Costello knows that, and the NCAA should not let this ump work in the Super Regional. It’s a game — let Worrell enjoy the moment.

Baseball fans also weren’t pleased with how Costello conducted himself.

Some fan reactions via Twitter:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College baseball umpire pushes ECU player while he admires home run