Walk-off ... ground rule double?
 

Had a strange ending to my tournament game tonight. Home team batting in the last inning, score tied at seven. Bases loaded, 1 out. Batter drills the ball to the gap in left, where it bounces over the fence. Walk-off ground rule double!

Clearly, they win. But what's the final score? The home scorekeeper wanted to score all 4 runs, but my partner announced the final score was 8-7 (he didn't see the ball clear the outfield fence). Since it could be important later in the tournament, I thought about this for a minute.

The coach wanted 2 runs because the bases were loaded, which seemed to me the right answer for the wrong reason: sure, the bases were loaded, but it's a dead-ball award, 2 bases. So we got it right, I think, and the final score was 9-7.

Who's seen a walk-off ground rule double?

mbyron,

Which rule code? Under FED or NCAA, the final score is 9-7. Under OBR-based rules, the final score is 8-7, absent any league-specific or tournament-specific modifications.

JM

Coach, this was (modified) OBR, and you're right: 4.11 clearly indicates that the only exception to the "game over at the winning run" rule is a home run.

That will teach me to extend the logic of a rule. Presumably 4.11 allows the exception because a home run is a dead-ball award. On the same grounds, you'd score two on a game-ending bases-loaded ground rule double. And I guess that's why FED and NCAA are different!

I'll see this team again today, and we'll get it right. Thanks!