Calling a Game Due to Darkness

[JJ]

A lesson I learned very early on in my umping career is "never assume you'll have a quick inning". You think, "The home team is up by 9 runs, so I'll let the visitors bat one more time because they'll be happy I didn't force them to end it early". Bad move. Be proactive - get the coaches together EARLY and let them know "this will be the last inning", and do your best to do that before the TOP of an inning. Always be thinking "if the visitors score enough to force the BOTTOM half of the inning, will we be able to finish THAT half inning?"
Always better to end the game earlier than be trapped into ending it later. Besides, you'll be erring on the side of safety.
Just MHO

JJ