Controversial Balk Called On Oral Roberts Results In Run For TCU, Reignites Age-Old Debate Of 'What Is A Balk?'

Oral Roberts was on the wrong end of a balk call during Tuesday's College World Series elimination game that resulted in a run scored for TCU. There is a lot of debate as to whether the call was warranted.

It went down in the top of the fourth inning. The Horned Frogs had a runners on second and third.

Josh Caravalho, a sophomore with more than 50 innings under his belt in 2023, was on the mound for the Golden Eagles. He was pitching to outfielder Austin Davis with two outs.

The balk was called on his 18th pitch of the afternoon. By rule, a balk is defined as: "when a pitcher makes an illegal motion on the mound that the umpire deems to be deceitful to the runner(s)." The penalty for a balk results in a dead ball, and each runner shall advance one base.

Thus, the runner on third came home for TCU's second run of the game on the balk call.

Here's another look at the called balk:

Frustration immediately ensued over the decision.

Further clarification found that the balk was a result of a weird, niche rule.

The balk was called because the home plate umpire ruled that Caravalho did not declare whether he was pitching from the stretch or the windup prior to throwing the pitch. By rule, a pitcher must declare.

Surely, if you're like me, that doesn't clear anything up. I'm just as confused as I was before the pitch was thrown and the balk was called.

WHAT IS A BALK?!

Regardless of whether it was the correct call or not, TCU's second run was the beginning of the end for Oral Roberts. The momentum swung entirely in favor of the Horned Frogs.