Quote:
Originally posted by greymule
NCAA book
For a legal catch:
a. A fielder must catch and have secure possession of the ball before stepping, touching or falling into a dead-ball area.
|
It's the "Falling into a dead-ball area" part. The fielder must catch it before falling into a dead ball area... which includes anything on the other side of the fence. If the fielder is airborne, she is falling. If she's falling into DBT, she must have possession before crossing into DBT.
Quote:
[My note: This would lead me to believe that she can in fact contact DBT after a catch.]
b. A fielder who falls over or through the fence after making a catch shall be credited with the catch.
|
If she falls over or through the fence AFTER making the catch, it's a catch. AFTER being the important word. To make the catch, she has to secure possession BEFORE falling over the fence or falling into DBT. Note that it doesn't say she must make the catch before CONTACTING DBT... it says before she falls over, through, or into DBT.
Quote:
|
Where is there anything in the NCAA book to indicate or even hint that the fielder cannot reach over DBT to make a catch?
|
Regarding a foul ball, no where if she's not airborne. The one clinician that insisted this was not a catch was, in the majority's opinion, leaning far too heavily on the "Falling into DBT" part. Regarding a home run, one of the definitions above state that once the ball crosses into DBT over the home run fence, it's a 4-base award. The catch in this case happens after the ball has already become a home run.