[greymule]

All the catcher had to do was step on the plate and appeal to the ump. After the appeal was upheld for the third out, no run could then score.

In ASA, as soon as a runner misses the plate, a fielder in possession of the ball can step on the plate and appeal to the umpire. He does not have to tag the runner. There are no criteria such as in baseball, where if the runner is in the vicinity of the base or attempting to return, he must be tagged.

In the play you described, it doesn't seem as if a proper appeal was made. Just telling the catcher to tag the guy is not appealing to the umpire. Also, you didn't say how many outs there were. If the appeal out was the third out, no following runner could score. Otherwise, the ball would still be live and runs could score.

Brings up an interesting question. Is it a valid appeal if the catcher is standing on the plate with the ball and a different player appeals the miss to the umpire?