Samford Bulldogs center fielder Michael Gupton was ejected from Saturday's Southern Conference baseball tournament game against Mercer for taunting the entire Mercer team (on the field and in the dugout) after hitting a home run.
It happened in the bottom of the sixth inning with no outs as Gupton hit a 2-run homer to straightaway center field which extended Samford's lead to 5-1. Gupton was hopping and skipping as he rounded the bases, taunting a few Mercer players with hand gestures as if challenging them to come at him. Mercer shortstop Bradley Frey took offense as Gupton rounded second and appeared to be charging towards him before two umpires stepped in.
As Gupton rounded third, he ran sideways towards home so he could face the Mercer dugout and mock them some more. Mercer coaches were so angry at Gupton's shameless display of unsportsmanlike conduct that not only did they pull their team off the field in protest to demand that he be ejected, but multiple players and coaches had to be restrained.
Samford hits a bomb. Dude taunts the whole stadium. Mercer takes players off the field in protest.
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 25, 2025
This leagueeeeeee pic.twitter.com/9kuEcABxCe
The situation was so heated that Southern Conference commissioner Michael Cross had to come down to the field and speak with the umpires. After a 25 minute delay, Gupton was ejected along with Frey, Mercer coach Tanner Gordon and Samford coach Gil Walker. Frey's ejection upset his mother so much that she climbed onto the dugout, which led to her removal from the stands.
The mother of the Mercer SS has been ejected pic.twitter.com/Z3U0Tba1vs
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 25, 2025
Things remained heated as the inning ended on a rundown at third base which resulted in the ejection of Mercer 3B Brant Baughcum as he shoved Samford runner Jeffrey Ince in the back after tagging him out at the bag.
The mother of the Mercer SS has been ejected pic.twitter.com/Z3U0Tba1vs
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 25, 2025
Ultimately, no further runs were scored by either team, so Samford won the game 5-1 to advance to the conference final against ETSU. Let's hope Gupton and the rest of the Samford players act with a little more class moving forward. What Gupton did was completely unnecessary. It's one thing to go back at fans heckling you after hitting a home run. It is unclear what led up to this, but you need to keep your emotions in check. Let your home run speak for itself.
UPDATE: Samford lost to top-seeded ETSU 7-5 in the Southern Conference final. You know what they say about karma...
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
