[greymule]

I always thought that ASA did recognize "last time by," though (unlike OBR) it did not differentiate between a regular miss (within a body length, correctable after the fact) and a gross miss (by more than a body length, not correctable).

In OBR, in the play in question, Abel would be called out if the defense appealed that he missed 3B on his return to 2B. By missing 3B by more than a body length, Abel committed a gross error that cannot be corrected after the fact. However, his miss the first time by was corrected "last time by," as he is now standing on 3B.

If there is no "last time by" in softball, then we have to call Abel out on appeal in the following play:

Abel on 1B, no outs. Baker hits a liner into right-center. Abel rounds 2B and is on his way to 3B when F9 makes a diving catch. F9 gets up and fires a long throw toward 1B as Abel begins to retreat. Abel misses 2B on the return. F9's throw to 1B gets away and into DBT as Abel slides back into 1B. Abel is properly awarded, yes, home by the umpire (3B in OBR). Abel then touches 2B, 3B, and home plate in proper order. The defense then appeals that Abel missed 2B on his return after F9's catch.

If there's no "last time by in ASA," Abel must be called out on appeal. And when did Abel lose the right to correct his mistake? When he touched 1B? Hard to believe.