OMAHA, NE - JUNE 24: The NCAA logo is shown on the field before the Oregon State Beavers game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during game one of the NCAA College World Series Baseball Championship at Rosenblatt Stadium on June 24, 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska. The Tar Heels defeated the Beavers 4-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)There’ve been plenty of incredible debut games in modern day sports history. Michael Carter-Williams’ 22 points and 12 assists, Marcus Mariota’s four first-half touchdowns and Trevor Story’s pair of Opening Day home runs, to name a few.
On Saturday night, FAU freshman baseball player Caleb Pendleton gave a performance to top all debuts. In the first two at bats of his collegiate career, Pendleton hit two grand slams — both in the same inning.
This 12-run second inning for the Owls ultimately led them to a 20-15 victory in an absolute shootout with UCF.
Here’s Pendleton’s second base-clearing homer of the night:
Caleb Pendleton
-Two collegiate at-bats
-Two Grand Slams
-In the SAME inningUNREAL!pic.twitter.com/P84z2B6VDi
— BarstoolFAU (@barstool_fau) February 21, 2021
In an interview with ESPN after the game, Pendleton admitted he was just as surprised as everyone.
“The second one, it didn’t really feel real running around first base,” Pendleton said. “Nothing I could ever dream of. That’s definitely more than I ever thought would happen preparing for today. I never thought I’d be going up for my third at-bat with two grand slams already. That was pretty cool.”
The odds of this happening are simply baffling.
In the history of the MLB, only one player has ever accomplished this single-inning, two-grand-slam feat. Back in 1999, Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis shocked the world with his record-setting eight RBI inning. Since then, no one has ever been able to top that incredible accomplishment.
After his unprecedented first two at bats, Pendleton cooled off significantly in the final stretches of the game. The rising-star catcher followed his eight RBI inning with two pop flies and three strike outs.
It’s fair to say we may not see this happen ever again.
