After all the baseball and softball games I have announced in my life, I’ve seen a lot and most of them more than once. Grand Slam walk-off homerun? Yes, twice. Inside-the-Park Grand Slam home run? Yes, three times, one was a walk-off! No hitters, of the 7-inning and 9-inning variety quite a few times. A player hit for the cycle, twice in the same season.

Yesterday in a JV high school softball game in Virginia, Gainesville hit into a triple play in the bottom of the first…after their pitcher struck out three in the top of the first and nearly struck out a fourth. Yeah, in one inning, triple-K and triple-play!

With runners on the corners, the batter hit a line drive to the Colgan third baseman who caught the ball and immediately stepped on third. The runner at first had taken off on contact and was rounding second. In softball, that’s common because of how fast the action is. Well, the third baseman then threw the ball across the diamond to triple-up the runner at first. This would be the first triple play that I have had while announcing, while the second triple play I’ve ever seen.

The first triple play came in 1993 at Durham Athletic Park in Durham, North Carolina. Hugh Walker, batting for Wilmington with nobody out and runners at first and second, and the Blue Rocks mired in a slump, faced a 3-2 pitch. The runners were off with the pitch as the Blue Rocks manager was looking to spark something for his team. Instead, Walker lined the ball right to the second baseman Tony Graffanino who pivoted and threw to the shortstop who then relayed the throw to first. The Bull from the movie, above the right-field wall, started blowing out CO2 and flashing its eyes. An amazing play!