I hope your partner laughed also but I suspect he did not.
Too often I see umpires (I recognize it because I've done it myself) retaliating for situations we ourselves create.
The pitcher has got to have a fairly good idea of where the zone is and where her pitches are when arriving at the zone. The PU establishes this communication with the pitcher by making appropriate calls and being consistent. I suspect your partner's zone might have been a little shakey... and therefore not understood by the pitcher. This likely prompted her attitude and that fantastic comment.
He probably didn't laugh at your comment either... "She was not questioning my zone."
It's too bad if the PU was not enjoying himself. Sounds like it was a spirited group of girls.
A little humor can smooth over so much "attitude."
