- May 29, 2015
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NCAA- would be an easy obstruction call. NFHS- I don't have obstruction. The runner never slowed down or deviated course that I saw. By the time they actually came together the catcher had the ball. As I was instructed by an experienced umpire "It isn't obstruction until it is."
I agree with this. I do not have obstruction in the video. The runner never changed her "pattern of play." She ran straight to home and slid as she normally would have. At the point that it matters, the catcher has the ball. Now, if she she had veered one way or the other before her slide (and before the catcher had the ball), now we have obstruction.
So why would we have it in NCAA? NCAA expressly states the fielder cannot block access to the base without the ball. She cannot be set up between the runner and the base without the ball. Before the catcher had the ball, she was blocking access.
You would think it would all be the same ... but it's not.
I would say this call would go either way half the time and the other way the other half of the time. I'll even admit I may have called it in the moment because the situation changes so quickly. (I would have been wrong.)