You're not missing anything, but Referee Magazine and whoever wrote the article is....
ASA rule 6, sections 2 and 3 for SP cover starting the pitch and a legal delivery. At the end of Section 3, it states that violations shall result in a ball on the batter. This is probably where Referee stopped reading.
However at the end of Section 7, it states that any infractions of sections 2 thru 4 are
- Illegal pitch
- If the batter swings or contacts any illegal pitch, it is nullified and all play stands.
- If the batter dies not swing, it is a ball on the batter
Referee Mag didn't read far enough....