Need Input on Bunt on 3rd Strike out

[greymule]

My only difficulty with this call has been as follows. Especially at lower levels, I've seen batters react instinctively to pitches coming at them by trying to block the ball with the bat. It could certainly be argued that these qualify as (admittedly awkward-looking) bunt attempts, even though they're really just self-protection.

One girl, as a high inside pitch came toward her, backed away, and then in a panic moved the bat in front of her face and deflected the ball foul. It certainly wasn't a swing, but it's hard to say she was truly attempting to tap the ball slowly into the infield.

On another occasion, a girl did basically the same thing but barely got a piece of the ball, and it hit her face hard enough that she had to leave the game.

And yes, some expert bunters do simply loosen their hands at the last moment so that the bat drops and they can tap the ball where they want it.