Hey, easy on the newbies. Welcome a"board" Mrs Umpire and this week's other newbies.

BTW, if " the batter swings at a pitch that hits her on the hands" or any other part of the body or uniform, etc.

infield fly rule question
 

Hi everyone- new poster here. I coach rec softball ages 9-15(two diff. divisions). My question is: If the infield fly rule is in effect and the fielder drops the ball what happens? (This happens more often than you would think at this level) Thanks for the help!

The batter is out whether it is caught or not, & since in your case it was dropped...the baserunners can go and do not have to worry about retouching or anything associated with getting back to a base(on a caught ball) before getting picked off. Remember the ball is never dead on an infield fly rule situation.

MadWorld,

What chuckchopper said is true, if an IF is dropped, the runners CAN try to advance, but they DON'T HAVE TO RUN. This is the reason for declaring the batter out, to remove the force on the runners.

SamC

Re: infield fly rule question
 

Although this is likely not the case for the age level you are working....

An intentionally dropped fly ball (directed from the mitt to the ground) is an immediate dead ball, the batter is out, and no runners can advance. This is true for all hit fly balls and has nothing to do with an infield fly situation - NFHS 8-4-1c, 5-1-1j

Re: Re: infield fly rule question
 

DTTB is referring to the "intentional drop" rule which is the only rule which is affected by an IF call.

Please note, he cited a Fed rule. It is not true in ASA. Guiding the ball to the ground or trapping it with the glove is nothing, but a risky, yet possibly, beneficial play by the defense.