Interference or obstruction?

USSSA tournament 8-6 ball game and we are down with 2 outs. Runners on second and third. Hitter lines one on the ground toward the short stop. Runner on second and shortstop are on a collision course. Our runner slows up to avoid being hit by the ball and colliding with the short stop. Short stop also stops short of the runner in the base path and the ball goes cleanly between her legs. Both runs score tying the game. Hp ump calls interference outfield ump calls obstruction. Oddly enough they are a mother daughter combo. After they converse Hp ump call stands . Three outs inning over and we lose. Their was no contact on the play whatsoever.

Had to be there situation, fielder has right of way to field ball and runner must give the fielder they room they need to make the play. Without seeing where runner was in relation to the ball and fielder have no idea.

As for the conflicting calls, being a mother/daughter umpire team I would guess the daughter is probably fairly new and training but dont know for sue.

Contact has absolutely no bearing on it being either obstruction or interference. Contact is never necessary for either to be called.

Runner gave way/ slowed up with at least 3 feet of room for the shorstop to make a play. Hp ump claimed runner altered the the short stops decision ability to make a play by suddenly slowing . If the the short stop clearly has right of way in this situation shouldn't she had continued on her path to field the ball?

Without seeing it in person I have absolutely no idea. Yes, defense needs to play the ball and not worry about the runner. The runner needs to give room to the defense to make the play. 3' may have been enough room, it may not have been enough room. Wasnt there, didnt see it, dont know how the play unfolded. Some may also depend on the age level, I know some umpires are much more likely to call interference at the younger age levels than they are at the older age levels. College ball the coaches dont even want it called unless there is contact with the fielder.

12u A ball. It was a very quick play where obviously someone could of gotten hurt. Had the runner ran behind the fielder in this instance would their be any basis for this call? Just trying to avoid this in the future and coach the girls accordingly. thanks

They can run behind, they can run in front or they can stop short of the fielder. What they can't do is purposely time their crossing in front to coincide with the ball, stop in front of the fielder or cut so close the fielder has no room to field the ball.

OutInLeft said:

USSSA tournament 8-6 ball game and we are down with 2 outs. Runners on second and third. Hitter lines one on the ground toward the short stop. Runner on second and shortstop are on a collision course. Our runner slows up to avoid being hit by the ball and colliding with the short stop. Short stop also stops short of the runner in the base path and the ball goes cleanly between her legs. Both runs score tying the game. Hp ump calls interference outfield ump calls obstruction. Oddly enough they are a mother daughter combo. After they converse Hp ump call stands . Three outs inning over and we lose. Their was no contact on the play whatsoever.

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I don't see any basis for an OBS call if the SS stopped short of the runner's path.

INT vs OBS can depend on timing of the ball. Saw one in this year's WCWS/Supers where runner collided with F4 charging the ball into her path. Defense wanted INT called, however replays showed fielder missed the ball a split second before runner ran into her, so F4 was no longer protected and therefore obstructed the runner.

Comp said:

They can run behind, they can run in front or they can stop short of the fielder. What they can't do is purposely time their crossing in front to coincide with the ball, stop in front of the fielder or cut so close the fielder has no room to field the ball.

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Thank you.
So many times I have to explain to a DC that just running in front of their fielder is not grounds for an interference call.
Then they ask if their fielder had gone for the ball and contact was made, would that be interference?
Yes.
Now they are really mad, usually replying, so you are telling me that my fielder needs to to be run over for you to make an interference call right??"
No, I respond--I am just telling you what the rule is."

If the runner interfered with the fielder it could be interference. Without seeing the play it's hard to determine that. It doesn't matter if she tried to avoid it or stopped. Sometimes you are just in the wrong spot. I've seen foul popups on the 3rd base side where the runner was simply taking the normal secondary lead and the fielder ran into her and it's interference.

While Comp is right at usual on the no contact being necessary, I have had Umpire after Umpire say no to interference because of no contact and also call interference for obvious non intentional jumping over the ball.

If possible I would instruct the runner to do whatever it takes to avoid contact.

No way without seeing it in person...sure if it was exactly like you said seems OK but not everyone there probably saw it that way.

Not much you can do if you are taking a good lead and the ball is hit in your direction that just the breaks...running behind if possible is your safest course of action if you are trying to avoid the call but its not always practical since it usually means running right just behind the fielder assuming they will be charging and don't take a step back.