Illegal Bat Issue Observed at a Tourney

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Aug 19, 2015
1,118
113
Atlanta, GA
This was a PGF 16U tournament last weekend. I was only halfway watching the game because our team was playing on that field next. At the end of the game, HC of the losing team approached the umps re: a girl on the winning team using the Gold Ghost and was saying it was an illegal bat. Parents around me were confused and saying the Gold bat is legal for PGF and USSSA, but not ASA. Umps went and conferred with tournament director and came back to declare that, although the Gold Ghost is legal for PGF, it was not legal for THIS tournament. Huh? They replayed the last inning and the score wound up exactly the same. Guess this shows that HC's need to always read the rules for each tournament and not just assume that things are the same across all tournaments, regardless of sanction.
 

2br02b

Trabant swing
Jul 25, 2017
303
43
If it isn't caught during the game while the bat is being used or had just hit a ball, I don't see how they could impose any penalty. That is ridiculous.
 
Apr 26, 2015
704
43
Ha - DD was guest playing with a team a couple weekends back...(they were playing ASA) when a girl came up to bat with the gold ghost. The catcher noticed it and brought it to the attention of the umpires, who took it to the tournament directors. Oh my gosh - it was unbelievable how the opposing coach was reacting. He was literally making such a scene that people from other fields were coming over to watch. He was screaming how he sells bats and he know the rules and when a bat can and cannot be used. He was throwing bats out of his dugout and generally looking like a complete and total idiot. AND his team was awful - the team DD was guesting with gave them every one of their outs by stepping off the bases.
 

softgabby

Gear Empress
Mar 10, 2016
1,073
83
Just behind home plate
We had a similar situation to this during our last road game of the high school season. We were playing a really good team at their school and they were whooping us badly. I used my 2019 Easton Ghost, which is a legal bat by our state's athletic governing body. The catcher tried to say I was using an illegal bat. The umps determined my bat was legal to use and I continued the at-bat. The score was 8-3 at this point in the second inning. By the time the fourth inning rolled around, the score ended up being 13-5. They had a substitute come up to bat to give her some playing time. I looked over at her bat and I recognized it as an illegal bat. I didn't want to seem petty because of us being whupped upon by this better team and losing as badly as we were or because they tried calling out my bat as illegal and failing at the challenge. But I said to the ump "hey, you might want to check that bat out. I think it's illegal". They checked the bat out and not only the bat was illegal, but the bat was cracked, The player was called out and their coach went absolutely apes*it because how dare someone call out a player's bat as illegal and it's a different model from what was shown in the rule book. The umpires looked at it again and ruled again that it's illegal and she was out. She did end up using another -- legal --bat for her next appearence and she glared at me...I mean stare holes and daggers through me because I reported her bat that she's used all year. She sarcastically told me "thanks". I kinda chuckled and smiled to myself.
 
Jul 9, 2016
240
28
ASA rules.

Saw Player and Head Coach get tossed from the Game.
Second Inning.
USSSA Ghost
2 weeks ago.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,478
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top