There are few traditions in college sports more entertaining — and devastating — than Texas A&M baseball's "Ball Five" chant.
A word of warning for opposing pitchers: You do not want to throw a four-pitch walk against the Aggies in College Station.
When that happens, Texas A&M fans break out in unison for their infamous chant which tracks the number of balls an opposing pitcher has thrown in a row, adding one to the total as a prediction of what's to come. It begins with a resounding "Ball Five," and continues — growing after every pitch — until the first strike.
Against No. 13 Mississippi State last night, the chant resurfaced.
It started in the bottom of the fourth when No. 17 Texas A&M was leading 3-2. With runners on second and third, the Bulldogs elected to intentionally walk Nick Choruby to load the bases.
Four more (not intentional) balls in a row to Baine Schoenvogel walked in a run and added fuel to the chant. After 10 straight balls, Mississippi State ended up pulling its pitcher, but the chant stops for no man. It did take a break as the reliever warmed up, but picked up again when Texas A&M's Braden Shewmake stepped back into the box with a 2-0 count. To the crowd's delight, the very first pitch Shewmake faced hit the dirt, and "Ball 12" was born.
Finally, after 11 straight pitches out of the zone, a merciful strike ended the tradition, and the crowd responded with a cheer. But on the very next pitch, Shewmake connected on a bomb that flew over the rightfield wall for a grand slam, breaking the game wide open, and leading to a 9-2 win over the Bulldogs.
We suggest you watch the whole process in the video below, but if you'd rather to jump ahead to key moments, the chant starts at 1:08, ball eight and the run walked in happen at 5:32, the Bulldogs reliever takes over at 9:43, and the grand slam comes at 10:40. Enjoy:
