24. In the third inning, the umpire notices that two bats in Team B’s dugout are leaning against the fence with warming sleeves on them. The umpire should:
a.) Remove those bats for the duration of the game.
b.) Give the manager a warning and remove the warming sleeves.
c.) Eject the manager immediately.
d.) There is no penalty.
I don't have my 2015 manual yet, but couldn't find a specific reference to what an umpire should do. The closest I could find was 3-7-B:
The National Championship UIC, Assistant UIC, or Staff has the right to remove any and all equipment not meeting Rule 3 including bats and helmets, through pregame inspection, bat testing or during a game. Removed equipment will be marked properly with the name of the team and will be returned after the team's final game...
And the last sentence in 3-7-A: Warming devices for bats are not approved.
Unless there is new verbiage that wasn't included in the 2015 Playing Rule Changes and Comments, my guess would be a. but it doesn't go as far as removing the bats for the duration of the tournament, only that particular game. Unless the bats themselves have an issue, it probably doesn't make sense to restrict them beyond the immediate game, but the wording in the manual doesn't seem to support that.
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USA & NFHS Softball
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