Yes, you read right: this bunt was DRAMATIC!
I know, I know, I can hear you already: “A bunt? Dramatic? Really?”
But trust me! I’m not lying! Also, bunts can be fun and sometimes really, really cool.
The situation: in the NCAA regionals of the 2024 baseball tournament, LSU was up 3-2 on North Carolina, with the Tar Heels’ Alex Madera up and two strikes on him. He had a man on second, and he decided to lay down a risky bunt. If it went foul, it was a third strike. Fair? He might get on.
The bunt was near perfect, rolling down the third base line and looking fair all the way. But LSU’s third baseman shrewdly let it roll … until it just missed the bag itself by inches for a foul ball, a third strike and the runner on third had to return to second.
It was the perfect bunt until it wasn’t pic.twitter.com/hh2U8VCbkF
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 4, 2024
Madera got redemption with what would be the game-winning hit in the 10th to help UNC move on:
NORTH CAROLINA IS GOING TO THE SUPERS.
What a regional.
Alex Madera got it done
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 4, 2024
