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Originally Posted by bigwally
ok..I will try one more. On a dropped third strike the catcher is about to pick up the loose ball and the batter's follow through knocks the ball away from her as she is about to pick up
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Need to read the rules on this for the various alphabets.
In USA Softball, Rule 7-4-I and Rule Supplement 24 says that if a batter swings and misses the pitch, and then on his/her follow-through hits the ball, or hits the ball after it bounces off the catcher or his/her mitt, then the ball is dead and runners cannot advance. If this happens on Strike 3, then the batter has interfered with a dropped third strike and she's out.
FED also has a rule, 8-2-7, that says a BR cannot interfere with a dropped third strike. They also have this case play:
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7.4.4 SITUATION D:
With R1 on third and R2 on first base, B3 swings and does not make contact with the ball. On her follow-through, the bat comes around and inadvertently knocks the ball out of the catcher's glove. The ball rolls up the line; R1 scores and R2 advances to second base.
RULING: Batter interference is called since the ball was in the catcher's glove; the act does not have to be intentional. B3 is out, the ball is dead and all runners return to the last base touched at the time of the interference.
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NCAA Rule 11.14.3 also says a batter who hits the ball with her follow-through is a dead-ball strike, and if it's a third strike, she's out. If she hits the catcher's mitt and knocks the ball out of it, there is a case play that calls this "accidental interference", and no runners are allowed to advance.
For whatever reason, I cannot find anything that talks of the batter hitting the catcher's mitt and knocking the ball out in USA Softball.