Ump Show Unfolds In West Virginia As Coach Trying To Deescalate Heated Argument Gets Tossed

College baseball coaches, or any baseball coach for that matter, should not touch an umpire. However, touching an umpire should not warrant an ejection when it has to do with de-escalation.

Unfortunately, an ump in Morgantown thinks otherwise and made it all about himself Sunday.

West Virginia, the No. 6-ranked school in the most recent poll, was hosting 35-win Texas Tech. The whole thing went down in the bottom of the eighth inning.

A debatable play at third base left the Mountaineers' third base coach frustrated. He let the umpires hear his frustration and was tossed.

While the coach made his way off of the field, one of the infield umpires followed him toward the dugout in a manner that came with heavy vibrato. There was an angry tone in the way that he walked and words were exchanged between the two as they crossed over the first base line.

The third base coach, though upset, complied with the umpire's decision to throw him out and made his way back into the clubhouse. It took him a second, but his prolonged exit was not egregious by any stretch of the imagination.

College baseball coaches meander after getting tossed on a frequent basis.

And yet the infield umpire just kept coming. He was so angry.

It was as if he was a bouncer stalking a drunkard who had to be escorted out.

That behavior in itself was bizarre. And then it got weirder.

As the umpire continued to barrel down toward the coach and the dugout, West Virginia's first base coach stepped in to try and deescalate the situation. He put his hand on the umpire's chest to do so.

The umpire responded by slapping the first base coach's hand out of the way and tossing him from the game.

Touching an umpire is a no-go. Ejections for doing so are — typically — warranted.

However, in this specific instance, there was context. There was more to the story than a coach simply putting his hands on an umpire.

The umpire made it about himself. It was a total ump show in Morgantown and Mountaineers fans certainly did not agree with what had just played out.

Fortunately, though, justice was served as West Virginia moved to 39-13 on the year with a win.