Softball rule question

[Hampton Roads 6]

I was at a college game Friday and following play happened.

With 1-2 count on batter, she swung and topped the ball. it hit about 2 feet in front of plate,ball spun backwards and stopped on plate, where catcher picked up the ball and umpire called "foul ball". Then umpire confers with the 2 field umps, and then calls batter out.
Once foul ball was called/signalled, how could batter then be called out when no play was ever made, and she never left batters box ?

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

No rule gurus ??????????


Durn, it appears no rule gurus are reading this board

 

[Valley Man]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????

First of all the ball was fair (the plate is in fair territory)
And unless the ball was obstructed by the player out of the box or their bat (could cause the ball to be dead and the batter to be declared out)
I have no clue why they would call the batter out

 

[bowlingref]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????


Maybe the the batter passed gas while swinging bat. Not a Guru answer from me.

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????


Something weird happened. I think umpire just called foul ball too quick, realized her error, and had to do something. Unfortunately she made a bad decision. Once she called foul, she should have left it at that. But one of the base umpires is the worst umpire in the NCAA. He almost got me thrown out of a Big East tourney in Salem between VT and Notre Dame several years ago. This guy was so bad, I wrote to NCAA about him and got a response back.

 

[gymrat10]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????

Thrown out of the Big East tourney? Well that's been a few years. Let me guess, you thought the Hokies got a bad call and you let the umps know about it from the stands. I'll bet the men in yellow jackets came and took you away??

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????


No yellow jackets. The umpire called for "game management" who in turn called Police. I out smarted them and got away, went to vehicle changed shirt and returned. All I did was ask the umpire did he drive Notre Dame bus from airport to Salem, and did he have on green and gold underwear beneath his blue uniform. When a home run clears the left field fence 20 foot inside foul pole, the ball isn't foul, but the umpire called it foul.

 

[bowlingref]

Re: No rule gurus ??????????


Any straight jackets and shackles used?

 

[GilliamRatings]

Umpire missed the call when they called it foul. I consider that the same as missing a ball/strike call. Once the umpire yells, "Foul!" that's gonna stop all the action and not much can be done to fix it.

I suppose the theory being worked from here is "What would have happened if I hadn't made the bad call (and the rules do allow the umpire to make an adjustment in the spirit of fair play)?" I imagine the though process could have been: "The ball was fair, she never ran, if I had made the right call they would have thrown her out at first since she didn't run."

I still say you just leave it be as a foul ball and live with the fact you blew a call, rather than try and predict what would have happened in an alternate universe if you'd made the right call.

 

[GoMBKMonarchs]

Agreed

I see it as similar to an inadvertant whistle in football. Sucks when it happens, but the play ends.