A game-changing three-run Oral Roberts homer against TCU led to an embarrassing, on-air blunder during ESPN’s telecast of Game 1 of the College World Series on Friday.
The untimely error came courtesy of ESPN play-by-play commentator Karl Ravech as he delivered a thunderous call of a clutch, go-ahead home run from Oral Roberts senior Blaze Brothers in the top of the ninth inning.
Brothers’s moonshot catapulted the Eagles to a 6–5 lead over the Horned Frogs, a moment that seemingly lifted the team to victory given the raucous reaction. However, just as Ravech finished his call, the veteran announcer realized mid-sentence that the home run only gave ORU the lead, not the win.
The video of Ravech’s “wanna get away” moment quickly made the rounds online, as baseball fans marveled at his brief mental lapse. For what it’s worth, the one-run advantage for the Eagles ultimately proved to be the deciding margin, even if the outcome didn’t live up to the grandeur of the play-by-play man’s call.
Take a listen for yourself:
This was a tough one for Karl Ravech pic.twitter.com/RhSRNF9D7J
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 16, 2023
An ESPN employee for 30 years, Ravech later showed his ability to roll with the punches in the face of the public criticism, as he took to Twitter to humbly address the botched call.
“It was, all on me. Come back and do it again tomorrow. My bad,” he tweeted.
It was, all on me. Come back and do it again tomorrow. My bad. https://t.co/khNT51Rh2T
— Karl Ravech (@karlravechespn) June 16, 2023
