Missed Home on a Bases Loaded Walk

I was researching something on a different forum and came across this gem. It was hotly debated and since I don't have a NFHS Rulebook I thought I'd open it up to the experts here.


JV game. Bases loaded walk. Runner from 3rd does not touch home. She starts heading to their dugout on the 1st base side about 5 feet from home and cuts in front of home. About the time she gets to the on deck circle, the coach for the defense yells to for her team to touch home. The runner comes back to touch home but the defense throws home first (catcher steps on the plate and also tags the girl before she touches home). PU calls her out.


Was this correct? It's seems wrong to me, but like I said I'm not current on NFHS rules.

I don’t know the NFHS rules as they apply to this case either, but it sounds eerily similar to the home run that Alabama hit against Ole Miss last year that wasn’t counted b/c the girl missed home in her celebratory actions. She was tagged out on appeal, the home run turned into a triple in the score book, and it was the third out of the inning. You can bet that Alabama girl touched home every time for the rest of the season. I know your question is about a bases loaded walk and my example is a home run, but the commonality is that if the runner doesn’t touch home, it doesn’t count. She starts to head to the dugout and prompts a dead ball appeal for not touching home. Heads up defensive team gets a free out and the runner gets a lesson to learn about touching the plate.


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Seems wrong, she should be able to to touch home anytime before she puts 1 foot in dugout.

Key point...the ball is still live on a walk (unless Intentional in NFHS)

Since the ball is still live, once the runner passes home, she is considered to have touched home and is subject to an appeal. All that is necessary for a live ball appeal is for the defense to touch the base prior to the runner returning. Looks like this one was called correctly.

A couple of other notes on this play...the runner does not lose her right to return and touch home until she steps foot in dead ball territory, most likely the dugout. The defensive coach probably should have waited until the runner entered the dugout before making the appeal. That way, the runner does not have the opportunity to return to touch the plate.

I have not seen a similar rule in softball, but in baseball the runner can be called out because the umpire ruled they obviously abandoned their path to the base and clearly did not intend to advance. Again, I looked for a similar rule in softball and didn't find it.

Closes is you are not intentionally allowed confuse the defense.