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Originally posted by SRW
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Sounds like you got lazy. An umpire should NEVER compromize the strike zone, or "make up outs" just because the teams are mis-matched.
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Never say "never." There are times when a wider zone and finding an out are the right thing to do.
Our Florida HS run ahead rule is 15 after 5. You've got to complete five innings (or 4.5 if the home team ....). I'm BU in a mismatched game with the weak team at home. No lights. My partner (bless him) has had a bigger-than-usual zone all day. It's 21-0 heading into the top of the fifth. We're quickly losing daylight. We get two quick outs. Looking OK. Suddenly the pitching and defense gets even worse. Walks and errors make it 29-0 with the bases loaded. On a 2-0 pitch I call "No pitch. Runner left second early." Both coaches nod. We go 3-up-3-down in the bottom of the fifth. Ball game.
Sure, my partner could have called his "normal" zone, and we could have stayed on the field until it got too dark to see. Outcome -- the teams and umpires would have to figure out when they can come back to finish a game that was suspended with a score of 29-0.
I think we did the right thing.