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I tossed this play around with a few umpire friends last night. One of the issues we considered is what is the appeal. I believe that the coach would be correct in appealing the RUNNING OF THE BASES, not the placement of the runners pre-pitch. In that instance, the runners did not touch the bases in their proper order, having swapped their original position. As time had been granted for the conference, both runners cannot move from their base unless a base award is granted. That did not happen. The pitch to the batter only began the appealable play.
As for the batter, I leave him on base because without his being there, the penalty for incorrectly running the bases is irrelevant. The B/R did nothing wrong. We have two outs, a runner on first. The two runners are ejected and depending on coach complicity, he may be as well. If the team cannot field the appropriate amount of players, we have a forefeit. Further, if you dump the coach because he ordered the swap, you can forefeit the game under 4-4-1d.
Great question! I hope someone can ask Fed for their take so that we can debate some more.
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