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Kent,
You do not do a thing until the offended team announces they are playing the game under protest.
At this point, the umpires on the field should call you over. Walk with the umpire who made the call to an isolated area. Have his partner keep your discussion private by acting as a barrier from the participants.
Quietly listen to the umpires thoughts, tell him the proper ruling (if necessary, which in this case it is). At this point, the proper ruling should be announced by the umpire. If requested, you can make this announcement for him, but keep him by your side.
The problem with this play is that what do you do with the runner. When a protest is upheld, you correct the situation and continue to (re)play the game from that point. The error by the umpire was made AFTER the 3rd strike had been called, but before the runner or the ball reached 1B.
I think the solution would be left in the judgement of the umpire as to whether the runner would have had a chance to reach 1B safely. And no matter what you rule, you are going to hear it. So, unless the defense was already in the act of making a play on the BR when the umpire killed the play, I would put the BR on first and move on.
Mike
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The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
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