IP or leaving early?

[Dakota]

I think it is IP also, but I am having a hard time with the rules. WMB posted a good analysis on the NFHS board. Perhaps he will repost it here.

Even so, following the "order of events", since the pitcher never did release the ball, at what point in the delivery did the IP "happen" and did the runner lose contact with the base before that point?

With a single umpire, there is ample room for judgment to make the "right call."

But suppose the BU calls NO PITCH - RUNNER OUT at about the same time as the PU is calling THAT'S ILLEGAL? Now we have some mess, Ollie!

Strictly speaking, the runner did leave before the ball left the pitcher's hand (since it never left), and strictly speaking the IP is a delayed dead ball, not an immediate dead ball, so even with the IP call by the PU, the ball is still live until the play completes.

I would go with the IP call, but does anyone care to comment on any of this?