Wild new double base rule in NCAA confuses UA Wildcats baseball runner as he is called out

A new rule has been implemented in NCAA baseball this season, and it affected an Arizona Wildcats baseball game on Friday against West Virginia.

The Wildcats ended up winning the 16-inning thriller but perhaps would have won the game after just 10 innings, if not for the wild new double-base rule at first base. The double base rule was implemented this season, creating two first bases. One is the standard white first base in its traditional place, and there is a colored first base to its right.

The runner is supposed to use the colored first base, and once the runner has reached base, he then has to use the traditional white first base.

In the top of the 10th inning Friday night, Arizona outfielder TJ Adams dove back to first on a pickoff attempt by right-hander Jack Kartsonas. He got back to the traditional first base on time, but when he stood up, he stood on the colored (this time orange) base.

First baseman Grant Hussey tagged him when he stood up and signaled to the umpire that he was on the colored base, and therefore out. The umpire agreed and called him out.

It appears Adams was confused due to this perplexing rule, which is what led to him standing on the colored base. The rule was put in place for what are being cited as safety measures to attempt to prevent collisions at first.

Adams still ended up reaching base three total times on the day and drove in two runs, so it was not all bad for the sophomore. He is a victim of the puzzling rule, however, and it is an example of how this experiment does not make complete sense to so many.

Could Major League Baseball be next? It could be, and in the meantime, fans can do nothing but hope this rule does not affect their team's win-loss column. Luckily for the Wildcats, that did not end up happening here.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona baseball player out at 1st due to strange new safety rule

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Wild new double base rule in NCAA confuses UA Wildcats baseball runner as he is called out

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