Uncaught 3rd strike

[bellnier]

My DD and I were watching game the other night. The pitcher was dominating and the batter, with no prayer of ever hitting the ball, had two strikes on her. The next pitch slipped from the pitchers grip and flew several feet over the catchers outstretched glove for ball 1. My daughter turned to me and said "if she was smart she'd'a swung at that pitch and run to 1st on a dropped third strike". I've been away from softball so long now I'm unsure of the rule. Was my daughter right? Or does rule only apply to pitch that's actually in the strike zone. Thanks.

[sargee7]

Originally Posted by bellnier

My DD and I were watching game the other night. The pitcher was dominating and the batter, with no prayer of ever hitting the ball, had two strikes on her. The next pitch slipped from the pitchers grip and flew several feet over the catchers outstretched glove for ball 1. My daughter turned to me and said "if she was smart she'd'a swung at that pitch and run to 1st on a dropped third strike". I've been away from softball so long now I'm unsure of the rule. Was my daughter right? Or does rule only apply to pitch that's actually in the strike zone. Thanks.

You don't mention the ruleset, age of the players and situation on the field (i.e. how many outs, runners on, etc) but, your DD was correct. If the batter had swung at the ball, strike 3, and the filed situation correct, she could attempt to advance to 1B for an uncaught 3K.

[bellnier]

Thanks...just as I thought...have you ever seen this actually happen? (Fed, 1 out, 1B vacant, R1 on 3B, Sectional 1st round with seed 1 versus seed 12).

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by bellnier

Thanks...just as I thought...have you ever seen this actually happen? (Fed, 1 out, 1B vacant, R1 on 3B, Sectional 1st round with seed 1 versus seed 12).

Seen what? An uncaught third strike? Yeah - about 10 times a week. Or did you just mean someone swinging at one on purpose? Maybe twice or 3 times a year.

[bellnier]

I wasn't referring to a generic uncaught third strike...you silly goose. I meant how often have you seen the sitch that I described in the OP. I've seen plenty of games (mostly 16U and HS FP) but can't recall anyone taking advantage of this fairly obvious opportunity...

[mcrowder]

Originally Posted by bellnier

I wasn't referring to a generic uncaught third strike...you silly goose. I meant how often have you seen the sitch that I described in the OP. I've seen plenty of games (mostly 16U and HS FP) but can't recall anyone taking advantage of this fairly obvious opportunity...

16U and HS, you probably have less of those "obviously over the catcher's head" pitches than you do at 12u and 14U.