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I had one yesterday at a freshman game. Runner on 2B and an uncaught third strike on the batter. Catcher is worried about runner going to 3B, but ultimately decided to throw to F3 to retire BR. The throw pulls F3 off the base toward home, so now she attempts to tag the BR who's right on top of her. She appeared to tag the runner on the mid-thigh and the runner's momentum caused the ball to drop to the ground. BR proceeds to 1B and now we have runners on first and third.
DC comes out and asks for time wondering "What happened?!" Someone from his dugout said "She dropped the ball." So now armed with this information, he approached me and said, "Blue, I don't think there is anything in the rules stating how long a player has to hold the ball, like one-mississippi, two-mississippi."
I gave him an inquiring look and said, "I think you're right coach. I don't recall seeing anything like that." His eyes widen in anticipation. I continued, "However, I do recall a passage about the ball being securely held by a fielder. The drop occurred immediately after contact so the runner is safe."
He thanked me politely and returned to the dugout.
Ted
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