[UmpJM]

Tony,

Well if you're going to try to have an intelligent conversation about this sitch instead of getting into pissing contests with other people....

Heck, why not?!

I happened to be watching the game when it happened. My initial reaction was WTF!?!? The TV coverage was abysmal and I was quite surprised that Esmay didn't make more of an argument.

I have read the relevant rules and the available interps, though NCAA-specific interps are rare.

Based on the rules, I believe the batter had become a runner before the action occurred which resulted in an infraction being called.

Therefore, I believe that, by rule, the umpire must have judged intentional interference in order to have a "rules supported" call of interference.

There is also the question of was there a "play" and is it proper to call an out for interference if there was no "play" to be interfered with. I lean to ward the camp that would say there was no "play" (because there was no runner in "jeopardy" at the time of throw), and, generally, unless there is an out to be had, the interference does not result in an out. (a la return toss interference).

However, I could see a case for calling an out if the offense were judged to have intentionally interfered in order to create an unintended advantage (e.g., force a bad throw to allow a runner to advance an extra base).

So, if the umpire were convinced that the batter-runner deliberately timed his initial advance to 1B to hinder the catcher, AND the catcher was, in fact, hindered, I suppose you could make a case for the call.

That's the best I can come up with for "making sense" of the call.

I do not believe I would have called what he did, but I've made mistaken calls myself, so I might be wrong.

JM

BTW, I couldn't tell from the video or any of the accounts what they did with the R1 (who might have ended up at 3B?). Does anyone know?