Clemson baseball’s season ended in a heartbreaking, 13-inning loss to Florida on Sunday. To add insult to injury, head coach Erik Bakich and development coach Jack Leggett were ejected at the top of the thirteenth.
The debacle started after Alden Mathes hit a go-ahead home run and spiked his bat into the ground in excitement. According to crew chief Billy Van Raaphorst, Leggett was ejected for “waving his hands while yelling at the crew,” and Bakich was ejected for “clearly [inciting] the crowd.” Both were handed suspensions.
To understand why Bakich and Leggett were suspended, Clemson Insider requested a comment from the NCAA on the punishments. Here’s how the NCAA Baseball Secretary-Rules Editor, Randy Bruns, responded,
As an additional note as it relates to the last part of the Florida-Clemson game, I have not received any specific details but the rules that relate to the ejections at the end of the game are as follows:
“A head coach who is ejected but then immediately stops arguing and leaves the field is not suspended per Rule 2-26. However, per Rule 5-15-a-4, any team personnel who has been ejected and continues to argue or continues to excessively express themselves with prolonged actions or offensive language is suspended for 2 additional games.
“Team personnel other than the head coach (such as an assistant coach or player) who are ejected also serve a one-game suspension per Rule 2-26-f.”