HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — A Northern Kentucky University baseball player pulled off something that’s only been done a few times in the sport’s history. Hitting two grand slams in a single inning is something Liam McFadden-Ackman could have only dreamed of as a kid.
Now that he got to live out that dream, he’s trying not to get too caught up in the hype, and shifting his focus to the rest of the Norse team’s promising season.
“Yeah, it’s definitely set in. You know, it’s a pretty special thing. It doesn’t happen a lot. But I do appreciate how big it is. But you know we got a lot of games. It’s a long season. Right back at work. Don’t dwell on it, and get right back to work,” McFadden-Ackman said.
Liam McFadden-Ackman takes batting practice a few days after his two grand slam performance (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)
On Sunday, Feb. 26, the Norse completed a series sweep against Western Michigan in a game the team won 27 to 4. In the first inning of the game, McFadden-Ackman, the designated hitter, stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.
He hit a home run.
“After the first one, I came back to the dugout, celebrated with my guys, and kind of shifted my mind away from my at bat and getting ready for the field. The inning kept going and going, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna have another at bat.’ I didn’t know the bases were gonna be loaded again,” he said.
As it turned out, the bases were indeed loaded once again when McFadden-Ackman returned to the plate again in the first inning.
“I wasn’t trying to hit a home run. Just trying to put a ball in play and help my guys out, but you know, got a good pitch to hit, and drove it out of the park,” he said. “When I realized it, it was pretty surreal. I had a pretty big reaction to it. Yeah, I was proud.”
It’s even more impressive for someone who doesn’t even consider himself to be a power hitter.
Liam McFadden-Ackman says he’s focused on team success, even after his historic performance (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)
“More gap to gap. Putting good swings on the ball. And I put a couple good ones into play on Sunday,” was how he described his hitting style.
It was also a huge burst of energy for his team, which was already well on its way to a decisive victory.
“We’ve been putting in a lot of hard work, and a lot of preparation for the season. I think it was just a good showing for what our hard work has been doing for us,” McFadden-Ackman said.
As for whether this kid from Mason, Ohio, has ever done anything close to this in a game, he quickly responded, “No. Not at all.”
That’s because very few people ever have.
It happened once in Major League Baseball History. Fernando Tatis Sr. did so for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 23, 1999.
Two grand slams hit in one inning have happened a few times in NCAA Division I college baseball. But McFadden-Ackman said he thinks he’s the only player to do it and also hit for the cycle in the same game.
“It’s pretty cool to know that that’ll be in the history books and the record books,” he said.
Again, though, his primary focus is on the success of his team.
“We talk about not riding the rollercoaster of baseball. Staying level and level-headed. Just another game. I know tomorrow I could go 0-4, four strikeouts,” he said.
If that game against Western Michigan is any kind of sign of things to come, though, it could be a grand season for the Norse.
A junior, McFadden-Ackman said he wants to continue playing baseball for as long as he’s able to.
