[dfscott]

This happened to a friend of mine's team in a DD tournament we both attended. Here's the situation:

Start of inning, opponent is at the bottom of their lineup (B7, B8, and B9 are due up). B7 singles, then a pinch hitter is sent up. PH singles, moving the runner to 2nd. Then, instead of B9 coming up, the top of the order, B1, comes to the plate. Defense notices, but waits for the result of the play, hoping for a double-play and knowing that it can always be called back if not. B1 doubles, driving in both runs. B2 comes to the plate and before the ball is pitched, defensive manager tells ump that B1 batted out of order (B9 was skipped). Umpire agrees, calling B9 out, sending B1 back to the batters box (since he should be the next batter), and sends the runners back.

Offensive manager cames storming out of the dugout, claiming that when PH came in, he announced to the umpire that he was batting for B9, not B8, which umpire thinks about, then confirms. If so, continues the manager, then it was actually the PH that was batting out of turn, but the PH became legal as soon as a pitch was thrown to B1. Umpire reverses himself and lets the original play stand.

I spoke with my friend after the game, who was pretty upset, but the umpire told him "if you knew he was out of order, you should've said something before the first pitch. Then I could've called B8 out."

I can't find a flaw in the logic, but it still seems a little shady to me. After the game, the opposing manager said he had intended for the PH to bat for B9, but he went out too soon (this is 8U ball). He claimed he didn't realize it until too late.