Out of play rules, 3rd base side (no fence)

[bobbrix]

Hi all,

Saw this call the other night at a ‘fenceless’ diamond, what would you call?

Hard hit grounder well past third (fair) into left field, but with an arc and spin on it that is now sending it into foul territory.

Ball ends up rolling through foul territory and beyond the imaginary line where a 3rd-base-side fence should be.

F7 runs over, picks up ball and relays in. Effectively, she has jumped the fence and her entire body was out of play along with the ball.

BR is rounding 3B, but PU calls time and sends BR back to 3rd … “Ball out of play!!!”

2 Questions:

1) Should he have awarded her the one base and given the home run? I’m kind of linking it to the ‘unintentionally carries the ball into the dugout’ scenario.

2) Please remind me of a basic a fly ball rule … let’s say there is a fence, do we have an out if F7 reaches over the 3rd base side fence and catches a foul ball?

Thanks in advance for any comments, etc..

[mcrowder]

This should be covered at plate conferences on a field like this - but generally this is a ground rule double.

Incidentally, once the ball crossed the line, the ball is dead - fielder's actions or lack thereof become immaterial to the situation.

[Mountaineer]

Maybe I'm missing something here (probable!). Is this a batted ball that goes into dead ball territory? That's a two base award from the time of the pitch.

I agree with mcrowder, was this covered in pregame conference? If DB territory is not clearly marked, you need to define it in pregame. From what I've read, in my game the BR goes back to second.

[CecilOne]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

Maybe I'm missing something here (probable!). Is this a batted ball that goes into dead ball territory? That's a two base award from the time of the pitch.

I agree with mcrowder, was this covered in pregame conference? If DB territory is not clearly marked, you need to define it in pregame. From what I've read, in my game the BR goes back to second.

Exactly.

And yes, any batted ball the fielder can reach and catch in flight is an out, as long as the fielder is in play.

[Mountaineer]

Originally Posted by CecilOne

Exactly.

And yes, any batted ball the fielder can reach and catch in flight is an out, as long as the fielder is in play.

And pray it isn't a catch and carry . . .

[CecilOne]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer

And pray it isn't a catch and carry . . .

Those are fun, because no matter what we rule, no one knows whether we are correct, except that we are always wrong.

Some others have suggested that I should pray on every call anyway.