Arkansas Razorbacks Softball Coach Addresses Umpire Ruling Leading to Florida Gators Coach's Ejection
The Arkansas Razorbacks never stopped fighting over the weekend and were rewarded with their highest-ranked series win in program history by defeating No. 2 Florida, 9-5, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Pressly Stadium.
However, the series didn't come without controversy and a protest.
During Saturday's contest, there was a 25-minute delay as the umpiring crew consulted a physical rule book, the SEC replay center in Birmingham, and the NCAA office.
With two runners on in the top of the eighth inning, Arkansas's Karlie Davison laid down a bunt. The home plate umpire, Tom Meyer, thought the ball touched Davison and threw up his hands, calling a dead ball.
The entire play can be seen in the video below:
Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel asked for a review and the call was overturned which then led to a protest from Florida and a lengthy delay.
On Monday, Deifel joined Tara Henry and Gray Robertson on Good Morning Softball America and discussed the chaotic series of events.
"It was a dead ball call. We reviewed it; it didn't hit our player, and in the review, you placed the runner. They called a dead ball on a live ball, so they placed the runner, and then it went to a protest. I think the misunderstanding is that everybody just thought the review in itself was taking 30 minutes, but once you go to a protest, even at that point, that particular rule is not in the rule book. It's an added rule, so it's not something that could be solved on-site.
"It had to be solved through Birmingham. I don't know the extent of what they went to, to solve it. It was either going to be Birmingham or Vicki Van Kleeck (Secretary-Rules Editor)... it wasn't in the umpire's hands anymore.
"I understand Tim's (Walton) frustration, too. I think either side could've or would've been frustrated with how it played out, but it was a protest and we resolved it before we continued play."
Tim Walton, Florida Softball coach, sat through nearly 30 minutes of a delay for the NCAA to make a call before getting tossedpic.twitter.com/FYar5IpgGq
— Collin Wilson (@_Collin1) April 5, 2025
Once the official ruling came back from the NCAA office and play resumed. The bases were loaded for the Razorbacks with nobody out. Walton was visibly upset and immediately got himself ejected.
However, the Gators eventually won the game on a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.