Rocky Top Roll
Tennessee’s Jordan Beck flips off opposing outfielder after cracking ninth-inning double to send the Vols to the Super Regionals
Down 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth in their decisive Knoxville Regional game against Georgia Tech on Sunday, the number-one-ranked Tennessee Volunteers were on the ropes. Except, you know, they weren’t.
In the ninth inning, the Rocky Toppers came roaring back, sparked by a game-tying RBI double from Jordan Beck that soared over Georgia Tech’s centerfielder Colin Hall's head. The Vols would go on to score six in the final frame to win 9-6, clinching their spot in the Super Regionals, but after the game the conversation centered around what Beck did as he rumbled into second on that pivotal double. Grab that monocle, inspector.
It all happens so fast, but we’re pretty sure that’s not the “we’re number one!” finger. After the game, Beck was asked about how he was feeling in that moment, and he did his best to avoid the elephant in the room.
“I was super excited," Beck told reporters after the game. "I had a little bit of a blackout moment. I was just happy I hit a flush barrel. I didn’t know if it was getting over the guy’s head or not.”
Ah yes, a “blackout moment.” Can’t be convicted of a crime if you weren’t conscious when it happened. That’s just science, folks!
Anyway, Beck’s bird helped to cement the Volunteers as college baseball’s biggest villain this season (every year needs one), and also raised some very real questions about what the NCAA will do next. Will Beck be suspended for the Vols’ Super Regional showdown with Notre Dame on Friday? Will he simply be asked to use his index finger next time? TBD, but we say let the kids play.