So I will jump in on this one, not to start a war but ask for clarification.
1. Would you as a parent be willing to pay 30% more for an entry fee to have 3 umpires on the field? Would that solve your distance problem?
2. When you say no help @ 1st or 3rd from PU.... What help are you looking...
I do not what weight the word "National" has in July for USSSA.... but we have 4 Great Lakes "Nationals" in a span of 3 weeks within a 2 hour drive of me (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio). These are all regional tournaments at best.
Yes, it all depends on where F5&F6 we're playing. Were the in front of the base path? Playing bunt defense? Without seeing the play or more detail hard to answer but short of it is yes.
Reported him to who? What would "they" have done? It's just a shortage right now, and if you have a pulse.... ADs, UICs, and TDs will put you out there. The vast majority of the Blue Crew try to call perfect games.... unfortunately not 100% do.
Thank you for saying TB is watered down! One of our larger orgs has 38 14U teams in the state.... Some of the kids should be in rec.... but as long as the org gets the money
While that is a rule, the interpretation will differ. This rule was adopted to protect pitchers from stopping their motion if a batter steps out without being granted time.
If a batter leaves the box to avoid getting HBP, no umpire worth a grain of salt will call the auto strike.