Ohio uses NFHS baseball rules. This afternoon I umpired a boys' H.S. jr. varsity game.

Top of the first inning, 3-2 count on the lead-off batter (who is also the catcher for the visiting team). The pitch is delivered and it is in the middle of the plate horizontally but high as it passed over the plate. As the pitch passes over the plate the batter leans into the pitch and gets hit by the ball.

I was completely got off guard by the batter's actions, but I managed to remember to declare the ball dead and awarded the batter first base because the pitch was ball four.

I know that if the pitch had been in the strike zone, the ball would be dead automatically, and the batter is declared out on strikes.

I now I did the right thing, but it sured was a weird play. Any comments would be appreciated.

Sounds like a good call. You usually catch a lot of heat for saying a batter moved in to a pitch, but you got out of it easy because it was ball four.

I was PU in a game last summer. A high pitch and the kid ducks his head down over the plate. I though it was a little weird way to avoid but these are 10 and 11 year olds so who knows. Next pitch he does it again except this pitch is right down the middle just over belt high and he gets hit right in the head. Got a few gripes from the stands on the strike call but all I heard from a coach was "Finally someone called it".