Ball out of play

[mbyron]

This happened on a windy day in the second game of a double header. We used a split crew that day, and I was not on this game. The umpire who made the ruling consulted a rule book on the field, and still managed to screw it up (or so I think).

R1, R2, outs don't matter. Batter hits a sinking liner to F9, and it handcuffs him. At the last second, he dives forward. The ball skips into his glove, which the fielder "flicks" up. The ball comes out of his glove and flies over the fence.

Place the runners. Now explain it to the coaches so that nobody gets ejected.