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From a coaching standpoint, it depends on the circumstances.
I coached in a 9-10 year old drafted league this year. In a league of 10 teams there were 3 clearly evident bottom dwellers that had no hope of beating any team other than each other. Every time we would play them, we would "play" for two innings, then call off the dogs. Typically games went 3-4 innings in the 1.5 hour time limit. Assuming we had a big lead after two, we'd stop stealing. Those kids were so poorly coached we felt sorry for them.
Against other teams, we never called off the dogs. And in tournament ball, you have to run it up, if possible, to try and get a mercy rule to save pitching.
In USSSA, there is a 15-run after 3 and 8-run after four mercy rule. So, with a 6-run lead, I agree with getting that 8th run in scoring position. A base hit ends the game early. Sounds like that defensive coach needs to develop a "1st & 3rd" defensive play to prevent that.
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