Runner Abandoning the Base Path

[Fritz]

Two part question that actually took place earlier this evening.

7th grade bottom division, 2 outs, runners on 2nd and 3rd. Batter whiffs on strike 3 but catcher clearly traps the ball in the dirt. Home plate signals the swing but does not call the batter out and points down at the dirt (BU confirms the trap from C position). Defense runs (more or less) off the field thinking they have 3 outs, batter trudges toward the dugout as do the two runners - all the while PU stands at the plate still pointing down and not calling the out.

Question #1 (a mechanics question): when the batter steps into the dugout, which he did despite the 1B coach realizing at the last minute what was going on and yelling at the batter to run toward first, who has the responsibility to make the "out" call? Plate umpire or base umpire? I vote for the plate umpire unless the runner on 3rd is coing down the line to try and score.

Question #2 (ruling): let's say in this situation, the batter realizes he isn't out and dashes to first safely at the last second. At what point are the other runners allowed to advance/score? In our case tonight, the other runners were right behind the batter in getting to the dugout, or were already in the dugout. Can the runner on 3rd run and touch home to score straight from the dugout area if he isn't in it yet? If he has reached the dugout and the batter is safe at first, is R3 out for abandonment (3rd out)?

Curious as to what someone else thinks. My partner and I decided that yes, the runner(s) would be out for abandoning the base path if they got into the dugout, but if they hadn't entered yet, they could sprint directly to their next base and have this considered legal.

Comments?