Out of the Box
 

Point #1

While watching the WCWS, it seems to me that the leadoff batter for Tennessee (Sarah Fekete) is making contact with the ball while out of the box almost every time she slaps. Granted, a few times it appears as though her heal may still be on the line but there were many swings (with contact made) when her foot was on the ground and she was clearly out of the box. She was never called out on any of these plays. Is this one of those rules that the NCAA wants to be ignored? I realize that TV angles can be decieving at times but it was very clear that this batter was out of the box. Thoughts anyone?



Point #2

Do you think that Lisa Fernandez hs ever actually read a softball rulebook? She is obviously one of the best softball players in the world but some of the statements she makes regarding the rules astound me. last year it was her saying "the hands are part of the bat". This year, she amazed me by not understanding the DP/Flex player rule.

This issue is raised every year and the answer is going to be along the lines of: The umpire is concentrating on the pitch (which gets there much quicker than it seems on TV) and watching a batter's feet is very much a secondary priority. Unless there is absolutely no doubt in the PU's mind (and then some) the player was out of the box, it will not get called.


No surprise here.