Only run in MA state championship game should not have counted

[ElmoBlatch]

This is an interesting story. The MA D1 state championship game ended 1-0 but an umpire who read the story says the run should not have counted. Tough way to lose but nothing can be done about it now.

Only run in Amherst Regional state softball title loss now called into question | GazetteNET

...

That's where the mistake happened.

The game should have remained scoreless according to National Federation of State High School Associations softball rule 9.1.1 exception D, which states "a run is not scored if the runner advances to home plate during action in which the third out is declared on an appeal play resulting in a force out (This play takes precedence if enforcing it would negate a score)."

Schmitt confirmed Tuesday that she had appealed the runner that began the play at second base.

The umpire "asked me which runner (I was appealing) and I said, 'the second runner, the one from second base,'" she recounted. "He immediately said 'out.'"

Therefore, the inning should have ended via a force out of Robillard at third base and no runs should have scored.

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[quincy]

That is tough for the Players.

The Manger needs to know the rules too. Being able to appeal a ruling is a lovely thing.

 

[SnocatzDad]

Somebody do some fact checking on that one.

An appeal is not a force out. No way runner on second base could have both left early AND been forced forward, leaving early would apply on a caught fly ball and a caught fly ball removes the force forward, that makes the appeal a timing play and if they appealed the runner from 2nd after the runner from 3rd scores then the run counts. The only way it remains 0-0 is if the runner from 3rd left early and they appeal that out or if the appeal was made prior to the runner from third crossing home.

 

[ElmoBlatch]

It wasn't a tag play, it was a force play. The center fielder dropped the ball. The runner from second apparently missed third and was forced out on appeal. Therefore the force applies and no run should score.

From the story:

Hailey Mullen was the runner on third, Jenn Robillard was at second and Alyssa Siegmann was on first when Meg Carnase stepped to the plate. Carnase hit a two-strike pitch to center field and the ball was dropped, as all three runners circled the bases and appeared to give King Philip a 3-0 lead.

But Amherst coach Kacey Schmitt appealed that a runner had missed third base and the base umpire agreed. He called the King Philip runner out for missing the base, which ended the inning.

At first, the scorekeeper took one run off the scoreboard, making it 2-0, which would have been correct if Siegmann missed the bag. Had that been the case, both runs scored by Mullen and Robillard would have been allowed as they scored before Siegmann rounded third.

However, Amherst coaches and the home plate umpire conferred with the third-base umpire who made the call and it was determined that it was, in fact, Robillard who missed the bag.

 

[chinamigarden]

Of course its a force out, they weren't appealing her leaving early they are appealing that she missed 3rd base, since she started the play at 2nd the play at 3rd is a force out. If she was the runner leaving 1st and she missed third, then it would not have been a force play and 2 runs would have counted.

 

[chinamigarden]

What a terrible way to conclude a state championship. A dropped 3rd out, a missed base and coaches/umps/ and scorekeepers who don't know the rules.

 

[SnocatzDad]

my mistake, i didn't read the story and promptly inserted foot in mouth.

 

[MTR]

It should be noted that the team on the alleged short end still hasn't scored a run, so nothing was "taken away" from anyone.

It should also be noted that the coach isn't that smart. It was not some "little known rule" and the umpires were not the only professionals on the field that didn't know the rule.

However, there is no excuse for the umpires to not know how this works and it should be embarrassing to them and their association.

 

[LAdad]

A bit of an aside, but why does it require an appeal for the umpire to call the player out? If the umpire saw that she missed the base (which he apparently did), then why not just call it on his own initiative? I'm not disputing that this is how it's supposed to be done, just wondering what the reason is that missing a base requires an appeal, but, say, leaving early or an illegal pitch, don't?

 

[Comp]

Because under the rules, once a player has passed a base they are assumed to have touched the base until properly appealed.