Hornell Baseball: Viral loss turns into life-altering win

HORNELL, N.Y. (WHEC) — On Saturday, Hornell baseball suffered a bizarre and crushing defeat in the Section V Class B1 championship game.

Up a run in the final inning with two outs, the Hornell baseball pitcher struck out the final batter. However, the catcher dropped the ball, meaning the hitter could keep the game alive by getting to first base in time.

The catcher proceeded to apply a tag for the championship-sealing out… or though he thought. The home plate umpire never actually called an out, and Hornell baseball began celebrating. Amid all of that, two Palmyra-Macedon players ran all the way around the bases to win in dramatic, confusing fashion.

On top of that, both teams wore red and are nicknamed the Red Raiders.

“It never happened the whole season that we faced another team that had red shirts,” said head coach Joe Flint.

Flint also took some blame for the loss, saying instead of arguing the call, he should have calmed his team down to make the final out.

However, that’s all in retrospect now. But it doesn’t mean the Hornell baseball story ended there. Rather, it took an incredible turn.

“The New York Yankees catcher, Jose Trevino, contacted us and he called and talked to the senior boys. He called them today, arranged a phone call, and he talked to them for 35 minutes,” said Flint.

Flint said Trevino offered life lessons to the team and even invited the guys on the phone call to a Yankees game in a VIP Section with a meet and greet with the players.

It will be the time of a lifetime for the seniors and the coaches.

“It all kind of happened quick, but it was a nice little end to the story,” said Flint.

The date of the game has not been picked yet.