In about as bizarre a game as you’ll ever see, No. 12 Louisville topped No. 22 Carolina in extra innings Sunday afternoon to win the weekend series between ranked foes. But the walk-off ending was played in front of no fans at Jim Patterson Stadium, which had been evacuated earlier in the game due to an online bomb threat.

According to reports Sports Illustrated’s Louisville Report, a 911 call at 2:22 p.m. informed police of the threat, discovered on a “baseball-based public forum similar to Reddit.”

The game was halted in the top of the sixth with UNC leading 5-1. Police suspended the game while evacuating both fans and teams out of the ballpark to investigate the threat. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the evacuation effort.

It appeared the game might be permanently halted until police cleared the park. The game was then confirmed to be finished at just after 5 p.m., a little more than two hours after its original suspension, with only essential personnel in the park.

Once the game continued, Carolina’s lead held at 5-2 until the bottom of the ninth, when Louisville scored three runs on a home run, wild pitch and RBI single to tie the game. The two teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the 14th, when the Cardinals loaded the bases against Connor Ollio and then delivered the walk-off knock.

It’s the second straight game in which Louisville has walked off Carolina, and delivers a bitterly disappointing loss for a UNC team which looked to be in good position to win the series.

The Diamond Heels return to Chapel Hill 21-11, and will likely fall out of the top 25 after losing eight of their last 11 games, three of which have come on walk-offs. Up next for the team is a midweek home game against North Carolina A&T, before another critical series with defending Coastal Division champions Georgia Tech next weekend.

 

Featured image via Stadium Journey/Marc Vizquez


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