One of the coolest feelings in sports has to be launching a baseball to the moon with the bases loaded in front of a ton of adoring fans. Tennessee freshman Levi Clark experienced that on Saturday when he crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning that led to the Vols' 7-3 win over Samford.
Clark did what most people would do in that situation: he watched the ball sail out of the park while very slowly making his way toward first base. The home plate ump wasn't a huge fan of that, as he quickly told Clark to get on his way.
First, here's the home run:
LEVI CLARK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) February 22, 2025
📺 https://t.co/kZCKZq2piK#GBO // #BeatSamford pic.twitter.com/tSS4009Bv8
Here's a closer look at the ump quickly stepping in:
Jay Abernathy is literally ONE OF US😂 pic.twitter.com/6YfKC9zO57
— Kerry Williams (@kerrywilliams_) February 22, 2025
Not a huge deal but many fans wished the ump would have just let Clark enjoy the moment a little more before rounding the bases:
Home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez tried to make this moment about himself by yelling at Clark to run the bases immediately after hitting a go ahead grand slam pic.twitter.com/hHdU3lsxv0
— Sam (@sthorn_23) February 22, 2025
What was the ump doing ?
— Brad Ledford (@BradLedford3) February 22, 2025
That umpire can kick rocks man....let that man stare down his work!
— ChiroVol (@ChiroVol) February 22, 2025
I swear, umpires always try and ruin everything. Let the kid have his moment. https://t.co/IWp9kFy0GM
— 3HL4LIFE (@3HL4LIFE) February 22, 2025
This is something that seriously needs to get fixed. I'm probably more anti-bat flip than most younger people but umpires at this level are ridiculous, especially given how terrible they are at their jobs https://t.co/erOueALHpN
— David Gerth (@dgerth1305) February 23, 2025
Umps and some fans pick such silly things to make a big deal out of. It’s a largely untimed sport where batters/pitchers sometimes take forever, and they’re worried about saving 5 seconds on the HR base jogging? That, or worried about a guy being excited for hitting a grand slam.
— Shreveport Vol (@ShreveportVol) February 22, 2025
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Ump Ripped for His Move Right After Tennessee Hitter's Huge Grand Slam.