I had a similar situation last spring.....only it was me that screwed up!
ASA 18u National Qualifier. 4th or 5th inning...close ball game...R1 on third, R2 on second, two outs. I am BU.
Long fly ball to center, I buttonhook in and take a look out to center to be available for help if my partner needs it. I see the ball go into F8s glove as she falls into the temporary fence. I stay with it for a bit to make sure that she keeps control of the ball and it doesn't come out when she lands. She lands, I do not see the ball, (here comes the screwup) and signal an out.
Inning over, I turn to go to my between innings position...Now the fun starts.
everybody is screaming and yelling about the ball being on the ground and how F8 had to walk over and pick it up. My PU partner comes out to talk and I ask him what he has. He says he saw the ball on the ground, but did not know how it got there, ie., did F8 release it voluntarily? I tell him I never saw the ball on the ground and had a catch. He says that since I signaled the out and that is what everybody saw, that's what we are going with.
I know, it is the PU's call because I didn't go out (I probably should have, even with runners on base) and I had no business signaling anything, but sh*t happens and we deal with it....By the way, the team at bat at the time ended up losing by three runs...the three runs they would have scored if I had made the "right" call according to moms that yelled at me as I was leaving the field.......
