[BretMan]

This is a play that I've been thinking about for awhile. I've almost had it come up a couple of times in my games.

Runner on second base. Right-handed batter. The pitch comes in right at the batter in the middle of the batter's box.

In fulfilling her obligation to avoid being hit, the batter jumps straight back out of the box. The runner is now stealing third.

Catcher pops up to throw to third and the throw hits the batter who was forced out of the box.

Batter interference? By a strict reading of the rule the batter, while out of the batter's box, did interfere with the catcher's attempt to retire the runner. But it seems like a raw deal- the only reason she was out of the box was because the defense erred on a bad pitch and the batter was obligated to avoid it.

Can the batter be cut some slack because she was forced out of the box, or are our hands tied and we have to call the batter out?