College Baseball Player Ejected for Bat Flip After Hitting Game-Tying Grand Slam

Grand Canyon University’s Tyler Wilson was ejected for a bat flip after hitting a game-tying grand slam.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers won three games in a four-game series against the Grand Canyon Lopes this weekend, including a hard-fought victory on Sunday that featured a controversial call against GCU. 

In the fifth inning of Sunday’s series finale, Lopes senior Tyler Wilson smacked a no-doubt grand slam to tie the game at eight runs apiece. It was clear from the moment the ball left the bat that it was gone, and as Wilson trotted to first base he held onto his bat for a moment and tossed it high in the air as he neared the bag to punctuate the dramatic blast. 

It was a thrilling moment, but it led to Wilson being ejected for bat flipping. 

💥 𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄-𝐓𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈. 💥

We're tied at eight! @TyWilson44 pic.twitter.com/85ps62lsiX

— Grand Canyon Baseball (@GCU_Baseball) February 25, 2024

Here’s a closer look at the bat flip. 

The bat flip heard around Brazell. 💪 https://t.co/2YWiWybuHY pic.twitter.com/73MzfByJTD

— Grand Canyon Baseball (@GCU_Baseball) February 25, 2024

The NCAA adjusted its rules before last season to include bat flips on the list of acts of unsportsmanlike conduct. But the rule doesn’t flat-out ban such celebrations, it only mentions bat flips “near or toward opponents.” Wilson didn’t appear to be directing his bat flip toward a particular Nebraska player, but it still got him ejected. 

Without Wilson, a senior who was among the team’s top hitters last season, the Lopes lost the game 10–8. The two players who replaced Wilson in the lineup after his ejection, Blake Avila and Cannon Peery, were 0-for-2.