Okay... I don't know what happened to the ball...
B3 up to bat... Pitch come in hard high and inside. The ball hits the batter's fingers/knuckles and rolls off toward first base. She did not swing at this pitch, she just try to lean back to get out of its way.. The bat was still on her shoulder..
Now this is the 4th batter to be hit by this same pitcher. The inning before, a batter was hit in the temple and carried off the field...
When this batter was hit, she just dropped the bat and stood there with her hands between her legs... I called time... Why?? I don't know, it just seemed like the thing to do at the moment.. Call it a moment of compassion... Call it a brain fart...
Anyway the offensive coach comes out to check out her player and so does the defensive coach to tell me that she should be out...
Neither my partner or I know what happened to the ball after I last saw it about one third the way down toward first. My gut feeling is that F1 or F3 just walk over and picked it up. I'm sure that I wasn't lucky enough to just have the ball rolled foul and I didn't see it go foul anyway...
After a brief meeting with my partner to see what she had, I ended up calling a strike on the batter and we played on... With the score 13 to zip there was a very short protest by the defensive (zip) coach but on we went anyway and B3 soon struck out...
I'm sure that there was nothing right about what I did with this play, but that's what happened... Comments welcome

Kill the ball HBP.

From what you have written..Dead Ball as soon as it hits her. check her out.... send her to first base. It doesnt matter where the ball went.

From your comments, I am thinking that you and your partner are under the impression that "the hands are part of the bat." This is not true. As others have stated, this batter was hit by the pitch. It does not matter if the ball bounce off of the batter into fair or foul territory because once it hit her it was dead and she should have been awarded first base. It should have been the offensive coach arguing about your call.

If you feel the ball was not a strike, everyone here is right, HBP, dead ball, send her to first. If it was a strike, dead ball, ring up a strike, play on.

I cant add anymore as to previous answers .
But WOW !
Lets get some feedback as to why you didnt do the correct thing .
Why not a dead ball ?
Why is the batter out ?
Just curious ,this is basic stuff for an UMPand I think we need your thoughts

2 coaches and 2 umps..
wow

well at least the batter was lucky you didnt call em out.

On the hit, hands did go up and a dead ball did occur.. The batter was not out on the hit, but she eventually did strike out on her own.
In as many innings, 4 batters were hit by the one pitcher and I think that a lot of us were concerned for the safety of the batters... Right, wrong, or indifferent and speaking for myself, I was bothered by the number of batters hit by a pitcher that could throw hard without any real control IMO.
This may be basic for you and a lot of other... and from previous threads it's obvious that there is no interest in a mercy rule for the batters facing pitchers that can't control their pitches. However, I got into softball only because of a shortage of umpires.
I have umpired in three different States in three years of calling. At least here in Montana I have not had to call a high school game by myself.. I did in the other two.. However some of my partners here have been as new to game as I.
This is the way it is... I'm not complaining (Too much) but between this forum, the study clubs I drive 60 miles one way each week to attend, and the software put out by Athletic Rules Study are allowing me to come up to speed as quickly as I can in a sport that I never played or knew anything about before three years ago... I also don't like to see people get hurt unneccessarily. These are my thoughts.

As an umpire you have every right to remove the pitcher from the game for safety reasons
Under ISF rules
The plate umpire shall have the authority to make decisions on any situations not specifically covered in the rules .
I am sure ASA and other associations have similar clauses in their rules .