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Originally Posted by MNBlue
Agreed.
But here is my concern. NFHS 7.2.1.b - A strike is charged to the batter when: a pitched ball is struck at and missed.
Seems clear, in the OP the first swing should be ruled a strike. Now what about the 'follow through' contact of the ball?
I am either overlooking why contacting the ball should be dead on the follow through swing in section 1 of Rule 5 - Dead Ball and Suspension of Play, or it isn't there. So I go to the rules governing interference, and this is the closest I can find. 7.4.4: Batter is out: The batter interferes with the catcher's fielding or throwing by leaning over home plate, by stepping out of the batter's box, by making any other movement which hinders action at home or the catchers attempt to play on a runner ...
Granted, technically, the player is not a runner, but a batter-runner, but there doesn't seem to be anything I can find that would cause the contacting of the ball on the follow through to be dead.
I'm not arguing that it shouldn't be, I'm thinking either I'm not looking hard enough or there is something missing in the book.
Just looking for some help.
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Here's my read on the situation....
The strike three pitch is neither caught nor dropped at the time it was struck by the bat on the follow through. The catcher is still in the act of receiving the pitch since it popped straight up in the air and she still has a chance to catch the ball to complete the out on the strikeout. The bat hitting the ball
interferred with that opportunity. I believe the rule cited above is correct for this play.