When is a Courtesy Runner in the game?

[seancca]

Hello everyone not an umpire but someone who plays rec softball and just wishes to know the rule book well enough to not mess up our team on something stupid or so we don't get hosed because someone got one over on us about a rule. I appreciate any help mainly in trying to catch this and make sure it does not happen again with this team or any other team we play.

This happened Tuesday night in our game involving a courtesy runner. The team we were playing announced to the umpire that they were using their courtesy runner for that inning and it was granted the runner took his place on 1st base and as we were about to pitch to the next batter the team decided that they wanted to save said courtesy or something along those lines so they then decided to substitute instead. The umpire allowed it but we tried to protest on the spot but were denied. Our main protest by our captain was that he believed that the person they subbed in was in the game prior and then was subbed out, obviously you guys would not be able to determine that. My main question is as the courtesy took the base would he not then be considered in the game and therefore could not be subbed out unless it was injury related? Also below are the local rules amendments in our league which follows ASA except where altered for locality.

COURTESTY RUNNERS: Teams will be allowed courtesy runners.
1. A team may only use one courtesy runner per inning (one of each sex in coed).
2. The courtesy runner can be any legal player at the game.
3. If a courtesy runner is on base and their turn at bat comes up, they will be called out and removed
from the base. They will then proceed to bat in their normal spot in the order.
4. Someone being used as a courtesy runner may not be substituted for except in the case of an injury.
5. If someone that is serving as a courtesy runner gets injured and must leave the game, the
person that they are running for may take their spot on the base. If this occurs, the person
removed as a courtesy runner MUST come out of the game, and is not eligible for reentry or
as a substitute later in the game.

[MD Longhorn]

The real answer is ... it's official when the umpire notates it on his lineup card.

Unfortunately, in local leagues slash coed slowpitch ... you often get umpires that don't even keep a lineup card much less notate CR's on it.

In that case, you're kind of up to some made-up notion of when it's official held by the particular umpire on the scene. I would add, however, that just about any umpire I can imagine working would consider the change made when that player took their position on the base. Your guys disagreed, obviously.