Batter-Runner Interference (video)?

MTR said:

I got nuttin'

The BR must avoid interfering with the defender making the play on an untouched batted ball. If she goes to the right, it is an avoidable delay, but if so, F3 could have been called for OBS.

I believe the BR did a good job. Once inside, she stayed inside. If she crossed the line to get into the running lane and interfered with F4 taking the throw, that would be INT.

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What am I missing here?

The BR hit the ball and ran...It was never close to the BR interfering with F2 fielding the ball, so that exception to the running lane rule is irrelevant in this play.
The BR was not in the running lane (even though it wasn't properly marked), the quality throw hit the BR before she reached first base, I've got an out here.

Ajaywill said:

What am I missing here?

The BR hit the ball and ran...It was never close to the BR interfering with F2 fielding the ball, so that exception to the running lane rule is irrelevant in this play.
The BR was not in the running lane (even though it wasn't properly marked), the quality throw hit the BR before she reached first base, I've got an out here.

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She avoided the first baseman, who was also making a play for the ball and only peels off as the BR nears and the catcher comes in from behind. Note the first baseman is inside the line and I assume the 3 foot base path as well, forcing the BR to stay inside.

MTR said:

I got nuttin'

The BR must avoid interfering with the defender making the play on an untouched batted ball. If she goes to the right, it is an avoidable delay, but if so, F3 could have been called for OBS.

I believe the BR did a good job. Once inside, she stayed inside. If she crossed the line to get into the running lane and interfered with F4 taking the throw, that would be INT.

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Really?! Take another look and pause the video to confirm! What I saw was that the BR immediately starts out of the box toward the pitching circle and starts toward 1st base 5 ft inside the line on her own volition, not to avoid interfering with any fielders!

Greenmonsters said:

Really?! Take another look and pause the video to confirm! What I saw was that the BR immediately starts out of the box toward the pitching circle and starts toward 1st base 5 ft inside the line on her own volition, not to avoid interfering with any fielders!

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The ball is literally spinning there on a curving trajectory inside the baseline as it trends out before stopping. It follows the catchers head. She's also avoiding running over the ball as well as the fielders.

Also, back to the USSSA rules (don't apply here, but I assume something similar):

Runs more than three feet away from the base path to avoid being tagged,
or to hinder a fielder while the runner is advancing or returning to a base.

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She's neither avoiding being tagged, nor attempting to hinder a fielder. Then the exception about a fielder in her proper path to me seems to apply here with the first baseman collapsing toward the ball at the start of the play when she sets her path. See as soon as she drops the bat, first is already heading down the line, so she's heading inside her initial path.

Didn't affect the outcome of the game, it just seemed odd and I don't know what else she could have done other than attempt to run behind the catcher, which might had drawn obstruction as mentioned above, but would have been much slower to the bag.

obbay said:

My original thought was o.o.b. So they called her out.

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Not possible since there was no attempt to tag her.

Greenmonsters said:

Really?! Take another look and pause the video to confirm! What I saw was that the BR immediately starts out of the box toward the pitching circle and starts toward 1st base 5 ft inside the line on her own volition, not to avoid interfering with any fielders!

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The fact that she is a RH batter dictates that she will be inside the line from the start. And she exited over the front, inside corner of the box, not toward the pitching circle.

Rules state that a runner may run outside the 3' lane to avoid interfering with a fielder. As Ajaywill pointed out, she hasn't reached the running lane yet, but I contend that she could not move into the running lane without interfering with the F2 or F3. Please note the ball is behind her and as far as she knows, F3 may be the protected fielder.

This is actually harder than it looked to call IMO.

First time I just ran it once full speed and it was an easy call BR is out.

Upon closer evaluation I am not seeing a possible way for BR to run to the base without interfering with either the C or 1B and not subsequently interfering with the throw. I guess technically since only the catcher is protected if you are calling her the fielder she could have ran towards the F3 since she basically in the running lane and if contact ensued F3 would be obstructing. Umpires help me out if F3 is charging straight down the line the runner MUST avoid contact and has no "right" to the running lane if that is where F3 is standing to field a batted ball. F6 should take the throw on the outside to avoid this situation but is she obligated to? I don't think so.

Again drawing a line from the front of the batter box to 1B I'm not seeing a BR path that involves getting into the running lane without risking interference she can't know full speed the C will field the ball so she can just run straight to the running lane not to mention she will be pretty close to cutting off the C as she tries to field the ball.

In slo mo I would go with no call, but full speed my instincts probably would have called her out.

Sorry [MENTION=423]MTR[/MENTION] reading your reply seems like I'm basically repeating what you are saying

"o.o.b."? As in "out of baseline"? That's not a thing. The "baseline" is a direct line from home to 1B then a direct line from 1B to 2B and so on. Nobody is required to follow the baseline.

There is a way to be out for running "out of basepath". That IS a thing. For that a fielder has to be trying to put a tag on a batter or batter/runner and said runner or batter/runner has to run more than three feet outside of a direct line between her and the base when the fielder attempts to make the tag but that is not the case here.

What we appear to see from this vantage point in the video is this: batter drops a slow roller a few feet into fair ground. BR runs entire way to 1B well inside fair ground (not in the 3 foot running lane) (I mean assuming the field had one which it didn't). F2 fields the fair batter ball and throws to F4 who is covering 1B. This is where it's hard to tell from the video angle..but if F2 makes a throw to F4 that F4 can reasonably catch but it is blocked by hitting the BR who is running inside where the three foot lane ought to be then it's INT, dead ball, BR out, any other runners return to last base at time of INT. This kind of INT can only occur by BR at 1B when she runs outside the running lane AND interferes with the fielder receiving the throw at 1B. NFHS 8-2-6.

If F2 just throws the ball away (F4 was never gonna catch the throw from F2) then it doesn't matter where the BR was running.

The PU seems to be in great spot to see this play. Assuming there was a catchable throw that hits the BR well out of the running lane she should have come up with and immediate dead ball and enforced interference. It should not be something that the offended coach has to ask for like an appeal play. But maybe PU just brain locked an after being asked and conferring, eventually got the call right.

That took WAY too long.