FAYETTEVILLE — A controversial first-year rule was applied during the final inning of Arkansas' 4-3 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday.
Facing a 0-2 pitch against Rebels closer Parker Caracci, Arkansas third baseman Jacob Nesbit was hit by a pitch in the shoulder. But home plate umpire Eddie Newsom ruled Nesbit leaned into the pitch, which is an automatic strike under NCAA rule 8.2d.1 that was implemented prior to the season.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, Nesbit and hitting coach Nate Thompson all argued the call as most of the announced crowd of 4,767 howled in disagreement. Newsom and crew chief Mark Chapman conferred the call with the Southeastern Conference office and it was upheld.
"The problem with the call is the pitcher has made a mistake," Van Horn said minutes after the loss. "He's got a breaking ball that starts out maybe a little bit behind the hitter and the hitter doesn't know where to go. The instinct is you're just going to turn. He didn't turn in with his shoulder, just turned in because he felt the ball was going to hit him in the back, and then it actually came back a little bit.
"He didn't stick his arm out, he didn't stick his elbow out, he was just trying to get out of the way."
Following Nesbit's at-bat, Casey Opitz struck out and Christian Franklin flied out to the warning track in right field, clinching the Rebels' comeback win to even the series at one game apiece. Ole Miss scored the winning run on Grae Kessinger's two-out RBI double against Arkansas reliever Kevin Kopps in the top of the ninth.
The Razorbacks led 3-1 after Jack Kenley's two-run home run and Christian Franklin's solo homer in the fourth inning. Ole Miss pulled within 3-2 on Tyler Keenan's solo homer in the fifth and tied the game on Cole Zabowski's homer in the sixth.
The teams will play the series finale Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Had Nesbit been allowed on base, the Razorbacks would have brought the top of the lineup to the plate in the ninth. Casey Martin, Arkansas' leadoff hitter, had reached base in all four plate appearances with three hits and a walk.
"If he gets on base that gives us a lot of momentum," Martin said. "That kind of killed it right there. Who knows what would have happened if he got on first."
Nesbit was not one of the players chosen to come into the media interview room after the game. Martin said Nesbit did what he was supposed to do in the situation.
"The rule states you have to attempt to get out of the way," Martin said, "and from everybody's viewpoint right there he turned the shoulder...to make an attempt to get out of the way. The rule states if you do that, dead ball, first base.
"I think it's a bad call, it's a bad rule overall and I think they kind of messed up on that one, personally. Nesbit did his job. He didn't sit there and stick his elbow out; he turned his shoulder like you're supposed to - it's kind of what they teach - and he got on base like he was supposed to."
The rule change has been the point of much discussion already this season. During a game between Texas and Texas-Rio Grande earlier this month, a Rio Grande batter was ruled to have leaned into a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning, clinching a 4-3 win by the Longhorns.
The same rule was applied during a game between Clemson and Virginia Tech on Friday when a Tigers batter was hit in the arm. The Tigers won that game, 6-4.
"It's just a bad rule," Van Horn said. "I don't know why they'd ever put a rule in like that, especially on strike three. If you haven't been in the box with a bat in your hand, it's just instinct tells you to move forward on a ball that's coming from behind you.
"I know the umpires don't like it either."