The home plate umpire who made a controversial strike call that ended a game between the University of New Orleans and Mississippi Valley State earlier this month, said he regretted the call but explained his decision was influenced by how he was treated by fans and players.

Reggie Drummer told The Plate Meeting Podcast that he had ejected two players and warned both teams prior to that ninth-inning call on March 10. Drummer also claimed that fans directed what he described as racist language at him and that he had been involved in multiple exchanges with MVSU players and their manager Milton Barney.

Drummer also alleged that fans of Mississippi Valley State used specific racial slurs toward him.

“I’m not upset,” Drummer said. “I’m more hurt because I’m getting all this from my people when I know I’m calling a good game, I’m calling a fair game.”

It all concluded with Drummer calling consecutive strikes — well out of the strike zone — on Delta Devils left fielder Davon Mims at the plate for the final out of the ninth inning in a 7-3 win for New Orleans.

Drummer explained that he should have ejected Mims following his animated response to the strike-two call, where he jumped up and down and then pointed at the spot where he thought the pitch crossed the plate.

“I should have ejected him when he pointed,” Drummer said. “By this time, my lapse of judgment is through the roof because I was sitting here saying, ‘I can’t believe my own people have treated me like this for three hours.’ And I said to myself … ‘I feel like I’m on an island and I just want to get out of here.'”

With that in mind, Drummer was intent on calling the next pitch — if it was close to the strike zone — a strike.

The next pitch was low and nearly out of the reach of the New Orleans catcher. Drummer immediately called strike-three and exited the field.

“I called a bad pitch, which I regret,” he said. “I apologize for doing that, but I just wanted to get out of a hostile environment because I’d never been in a situation like that.”

Drummer said at that point, he “just want to get to the locker room and whatever happens, happens.”

Drummer was suspended by the Southland Conference after a review of the incident. He has since returned to umpiring.

“If I could do it all over, the game probably wouldn’t have finished because Valley wouldn’t have had enough players to be on the field,” he said.