An inside-the-park home run is a rare feat in baseball, which makes what Louisiana Tech did Friday during the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Baseball Tournament Austin Regional against Dallas Baptist all the more impressive.
Up 7-4 with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Louisiana Tech sophomore catcher Jorge Corona hit a deep fly ball to center field off Jacob Meador that looked destined to end the inning. But Dallas Baptist center fielder Nathan Humphreys appeared to lose the ball in the sky, which then landed on the warning track and rolled to the wall.
All three baserunners were moving on contact and scored easily, while Corona beat the relay throw to home plate for a stand-up inside-the-park grand slam.
The grand slam gave the Bulldogs an 11-4 lead at the time over the Patriots. The Bulldogs went on to win the game 12-5 and improve their record to 43-19 on the season.
Corona finished the game with two hits, two home runs, six RBI and two runs scored in five at-bats. His first homer came in the fifth inning with a runner on and one out. He now has 15 home runs and 61 RBI in 59 games started this season.
The Patriots beat the Bulldogs 7-4 when the two teams met in March. The Bulldogs will now play regional host and top-seeded Texas on Saturday and can put themselves in great position to advance past the Austin Regional with a win.
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