Advertisement

College baseball player bravely confronts baby opossum pitch-invader... then chickens out

‘They have teeth that’ll wear you out.’

FOR EVERY ATHLETE, there will come a time when an animal crosses the white line and invades that little patch of turf you call home.

Whether you call that patch a pitch, a field, a court, an oval or a ball-park, it usually goes down the same way:

  • Animal runs around
  • Players stand doing nothing
  • Players look to sideline for someone to intervene
  • One plucky player takes it upon themselves to heroically capture the animal with their bare hands.

Last night, it happened for these Arkansas outfielders in their meeting with LSU.

Leading 9 – 4 in the seventh inning a harmless (looking) baby opossum ran out on the field looking for a taste of the action.

Local boy Carson Shaddy had clearly encountered plucky marsupials of this sort before, as he resisted the confrontation with its vicious little teeth-toting face.

babyo

His team-mate Michael Bernal clearly thought it was time for him to ride to the rescue, racing in with his big glove poised until the invader turned on him threateningly. He instantly, and probably wisely, shied away.

Fortunately for all the endangered young players, help came in the form of a bucket and bag and Shaddy ushered the tiny threat into captivity.

Inger Canezaro / YouTube

Hopefully the commentators don’t get their hands on the little fella, they seemed to salivate a little when “dinner” ran onto the park.

Perhaps the whole ordeal unnerved Arkansas, because LSU support quickly pounced upon #RallyOpossum and they fought back in the eighth to force extra innings and won the game in the 10th.

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

Jenny Egan was in a canoe before she was born, this month she’ll take another shot at the Olympics

‘To have the anthem playing was such an honour’ – Rowers coming to terms with European gold

Close
Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.