1) The BR is a R after reaching 1st, so you can take it literally even though your understanding is correct.

2) "On an appeal play, the force out is determined when the appeal is made, not when the infraction occured" is a rule; so if the force has been removed before the appeal is made, it is by rule no longer a force.

From the ASA rule book, Points of Emphasis, POE #1:

"J) Force Out: If an appeal is honored at a base to which a runner was forced to advance and the out is a force out, no runs would score if it was the third out....

R2 was forced to advance to 3B.

WAS forced at one point. But at the time he was called out, the force was off. ASA is different from OBR.

. . .If the batter-runner is put out or is the first out on multiple outs on the same play, this would eliminate all force outs.

We can't take this literally. Yes. Take it literally.
Common sense can only mean if the B-R was retired before reaching 1B. And all runners to the next base. Therfore R2 was forced to 3B.

On an appeal play, the force out is determined when the appeal is made, not when the infraction occured."

In this sitch, the force out was made as a result of the appeal which puts the 3rd out as the force out. But when the appeal was made, it was not a force in ASA.

Therfore no runs score on this play.

ASA case play: Abel on 3B, Baker on 1B, 1 out. Charles gets a hit down the RF line. Abel scores. Baker misses 2B and advances to 3B. (Note that Abel was forced to 2B at the time he missed it.) Charles is thrown out (for the second out) trying for a double. The umpire then upholds the appeal of Baker's miss of 2B for the third out. Ruling: Abel's run scores, as the BR was put out before the appeal, so all forces are off. The third out is not a force out.

Rule on this one...

R1 on 2B. R2 on 1B. BR hits to shallow RF. All runners off, but R1 stumbles and falls (no OBS) before reaching 3B. R2 stops after rounding 2B waiting for R1 to get going again. BR rounds 1B and is heading to 2B when F4 takes the cutoff and tags BR. F4 throws to F5 at third who tags the base just before R1 finally touches 3B.

Is R1 out?

Here is a better one.

R1 on 1B.
Ground ball to F6 who "forces" R1 out, and then throws to F3 to get B-R out at 1B.

The offense appeals that R1 was not tagged out.

What do you rule?

I don't understand, since to me this reads like a simple 6-3 double play. What am I missing?

Sorry, Tony, but there is no force out

Only if it's the top of the seventh and raining. :)

That the offense is nuts. :)

If the B-R being put out on the play removes all force plays, then R1 needed to be tagged for the out to stand. Otherwise it is a mis-applicaition of POE#1.

I am sure most will think I am being silly, but if the force is removed after the fact, then why wouldn't an appeal overturn the "force" out if the runner wasn't tagged.

I can't even guess where TCan is going with this. When R1 was put out, it was a force. BR being put out erases any forces, as stated above, but does not cause all previously completed forceouts to revert. That way lies anarchy! :)

The statement earlier that "the rule stating that putting out BR removes all forces can only refer to BR being put out prior to reaching 1B" is faulty. In fact, an extremely normal play can illustrate this. R1 on first, fly ball to shallow F9. R1 is a few steps off first, when BR passes R1. BR is out (and beyond 1B). F9 fails to catch the ball.

Is R1 still forced to 2nd? Of course not.

I used to think I knew something about softball.
Guess I picked a bad day to quit drinking.

R1 on 2B. R2 on 1B. BR hits to shallow RF. All runners off, but R1 stumbles and falls (no OBS) before reaching 3B. R2 stops after rounding 2B waiting for R1 to get going again. BR rounds 1B and is heading to 2B when F4 takes the cutoff and tags BR. F4 throws to F5 at third who tags the base just before R1 finally touches 3B.

Is R1 out?

I've actually seen this type of situation called a force out. In a HS game, R1 on 1B, BR got an extra-base hit, and with his speed had actually passed 3B before R1 reached home. So because there were two runners between 3B and home, the ump rules that R1 had become "forced" at home and could be put out with a mere tag of the plate.

The protest is not upheld. The correct ruling was made. R1 scores, The tag on BR is the second out and R2 is the 3rd out on appeal, nullifying that run and the succeeding runner R1. As for ending the game due to darkness, that is correct. The game becomes official after 5 innings and since the visitors batted in the sixth and did not tie or go ahead, we have a ballgame.

Of course, you are assuming local rules. Championship play is nothing more than a suspension until the game can be resumed.

You rule R1 out, period.

Tcan: You have to consider the timing. At the time R1 is put out at 2B, the force was on so she did not have to be tagged.

The offense does not make an appeal that the defense missed the tag. This is simply not an appeal play. Read section A of POE 1 “Types of Appeals”. None of them are appeals made by the offense. They are appeals made by the defense in an attempt to get an out called on an offensive player.

Now about your original play. Since you are quoting lines out of an ASA book I am assuming you are speaking ASA. In that case I believe your ruling is incorrect.

You are missing the point of the last sentence: "On an appeal play, the force out is determined when the appeal is made, not when the infraction occurred."

In the original play, at the time the appeal was made on R2 missing 3B, the force had been removed because the BR was put out prior to the appeal. The third out was NOT a force out at the time of the appeal even though at the time of missing the base the runner was forced to advance to it.

So ASA 5-5-B 1. (the provision for no runs scoring when the third out is a force) does not apply. But go down two sentences to 5-5-B 3. which says that a runner who follows a runner who becomes the third out of the inning via a proper appeal cannot score. This provision will apply to our sitch.

R1 scores as she is in front of the third out, R2 does not score as she is the third out (on appeal), and R3 does not score because she followed the runner who became the third out.

Now, if you were calling a game using NFHS rules, your ruling would be correct. NFHS 9-1-1 Exceptions list the reasons for not counting a run on the third out. Exception four states "when a third out is declared on an appeal play resulting in a force out. (This play takes precedence if enforcing of it would negate a score) Also NFHS 2-1-11 reads "If an appeal is honored at a base to which a runner was forced to advance, no runs would score if it is the third out." No sentance about the timing of the play as in the ASA rule.