HR robbery AND a Little League HR? Clemson prospect does it all

Little League home runs and home run robberies are two of baseball’s most exciting plays, but they’re not all that common. Few players get the chance to pull off either of the two feats within the course of a game, or even in a season.

On Saturday, Cam Cannarella did both. In about 25 minutes.

The Clemson outfielder -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 38 Draft prospect -- delivered an evening full of excitement in the Tigers’ game against Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla, and he packed both jaw-dropping moments into a short time span.

The Seminoles’ Gage Harrelson socked a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning, and it sure looked like FSU shortstop Alex Lodise -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 53 Draft prospect -- had another. But Cannarella leapt at the wall in dead center field, reaching back over his head to make an incredible snag to deny Lodise a long ball.

That kept the Florida State lead at two runs heading into the eighth, and Cannarella was ready to strike. With men on first and second and two outs, the junior ripped a triple into the left-center-field gap, plating both runners. But as he slid into third base, the relay throw to the bag got away, skipping toward the dugout.

Cannarella broke for home. And then he tripped, tumbling down in a heap some 20 feet from home. Luckily for him, FSU made yet another poor throw, pulling catcher Nathan Cmeyla off the plate, and Cannarella rolled right up and dove in safely ahead of the tag.

It was a play reminiscent of Randy Arozarena’s winning tally in Game 4 of the 2020 World Series, and it put Clemson ahead of Florida State in a key game between two top-five Division I teams. A rain delay Saturday halted the contest in the bottom of the eighth with Clemson up 4-3, so as for when play resumes at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday? There’s still plenty of time for Cannarella to amaze once again.