A BASEBALL analyst has let loose on college officials after a controversial ejection on Saturday.
Clemson star Cam Cannarella's ejection during their 6-5 loss to Tennessee prompted ESPN's Kyle Peterson to state: "This has got to stop."
After the Tigers pulled off a double play to bring the thirteenth inning to an end at 5-5, Cannarella and Co. headed back to the bench.
On his way, the freshman said something to Tennessee senior Zane Denton - which was overheard by the second base umpire, Angel Campos.
Exactly what was said is not known, however, it was enough for the umpires to decide he should be ejected from the game.
Once they realized why Cannarella hadn't taken the field in the next inning, Peterson laid into the officiating.
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He said: "You cannot do that, not for that. I mean these kids have played thirteen innings.
"Again, like you want to take emotion totally out of this game, that's how you're going to do it.
"If they're going back and forth a little bit, they're both going their own way, so be it.
"But there's zero, zero way that you can throw a kid out for doing that. Either one of them."
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Peterson went on to add: "We're not face-to-face. We're not initiating anything.
"They're fired up. They're running off the field. This has got to stop."
It was also noted by ESPN's Tom Hart that "If there's any indication of how unimportant the exchange was, nobody from Tennessee even reacted."
Peterson later took to Twitter to double down on his stance, while also clarifying some of his comments.
He tweeted: "Umpires have a really tough job, and we have good people that commit to doing it and working to get it right.
"We can disagree with a call or rule, I'll never disrespect the human or the profession.
"But we need emotion in the game and it feels like the rules have swung too far."
As a result of his ejection, Cannarella did not play during Clemson's 3-2 NCAA Regional loss to Charlotte.
This loss ultimately knocked the Tigers out of the tournament.
Cannarella's season, therefore, ended with 59 appearances, a .388 batting average, and a .462 on-base percentage.
He was named the ACC Freshman of the Year in May.
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