[NM FP Ump]

I had "the game to remember" this weekend. Unfortunately it wasn’t one I am particularly proud of. I need a critique of the situation, to help me learn from my mistakes.

USSSA State Tournament, 18U, losers bracket game, I am PU, 5th inning. Visitors are up 3-0. I ask my partner, who is keeping the time, how much time we have. He says we have 9 minutes (we had had a clock stoppage the previous inning for an injured player so I wanted to get a feel for the remaining time). I am standing at third base line extended, by the visitors coach and I tell him, "Nine minutes, coach." Home team's coach is "motivating" his team and, as he passes behind the catcher, I tell him "Nine minutes, coach." Visitor's go down 1-2-3. Home team's first batter, LH batter, hits the ball, which takes a hop about two feet in front of the plate. The batter starts to run and releases the bat and the ball hits the bat in mid air and the ball rolls toward first, staying in fair territory. Visitor's coach comes out and says the batter should be out and I tell him no, she's not out, it's a live ball. My partner and I conferred and he said that the bat did hit the ball a second time and she should be out. I went with my own ruling and told the coaches that the play stands. (I know, I should have called dead ball, batter's out. I blew the call, I realized after the game, after I had time to think.) Of course, visitor's coach goes ballistic, argues the call and I end up tossing him ("Learn the rules, blue" was what got him tossed, how ironic.) We get the game back under way. The home team scores two runs, so it's 3-2 visitors at the end of the inning.

I ask BU how much time is left, expecting the game to be over, and he says 30 seconds, so I say we will play another inning. The visitor's coach (substitute head coach) says that I told him "this is it, coach" the previous inning and that the game should be over. I told him, "No, coach, I told the other coach "Nine minutes"; I never told you anything about the time." So he argues about when does the next inning start and I tell him after the third out of the prior inning and he doesn't believe me and wants to protest my blown call and the time expiring. During this time the ejected coach is behind the dugout yelling at me and his coach. I tell the acting head coach he can't protest either call. He tells me "You suck, blue." and I toss him, ball game coach, you lose by forfeit. In hind site, I should have called a forfeit when the ejected coach returned, but I wasn't proactive in that respect.

After conference with UIC, they upheld the forfeit and told the coach that, if he wanted to protest a rule interpretation, he should have done it after the blown call. And you can't protest the time expiring because it hadn't expired. But sorry, you both got tossed, no other coaches in the dugout, the forfeit stands. At the same time I am talking with my next game partner and he tells me I got the call wrong and the batter should have been out. I had forgotten the rule during the game and I feel I just didn't think it through. To me, it was a bang, bang play with a rule that I had never used before or had never seen used before. Sure, I have read the rule book cover to cover, but it was the heat of the moment and I blew it. I admit it.

So, do I chalk it up as a learning experience, and kick it around my head a few more days? Or do I go back to the rule book with a renewed dedication to memorizing every rule so they can be applied properly the next time around? I have chosen the latter.