girls a.s.a. fastpitch
 

if a pitched ball hits in front of plate and batter swings and makes contact and ball is put in play is it live or a dead ball? a.s.a fastpitch rule which rule?

Live ball

where is rule in book

Read 7:4 and 7:5 and put them together.

Off the top of my head, I'm not sure there is a specific rule (or, maybe a case play) that says "a bounced pitch remains live and may be legally batted". If there is, someone will definitely post it.

But I am positive that there is no rule that says "a bounced pitch is dead and may not be legally batted". So don't bother trying to find one!

You have to read a couple of other rules- the ones under rule 7 that define a "strike" or a "ball"

The rules state that a pitch bouncing before, or on, the plate is automatically a ball if the batter does not swing. It also notes that the ball remains live. A batter is always entitled to swing at a live pitch.

They also define a strike as a legal pitch swung at and missed by the batter. There's nothing there exempting a bounced pitch from either being swung at or being ruled a strike. By extension, a bounced hit may be legally batted.

A bounced pitch remains live and is treated EXACTLY the same as any other pitch, with one exception: If it bounces on or before the plate and the batter does not swing, it can never be called a strike. It can be a ball if not swung at, a strike if swung at and missed, it can hit the batter resulting in an award of first base and it can be legally batted, just like any other pitch.

Refer to the definition of a batted ball under Rule 1:

Any pitched ball that hits the bat or is hit by the bat and lands either in fair territory or foul territory.

Also refer to the April 2008 Plays and Clarification on the ASA website

http://www.asasoftball.com/umpires/c...nsandplays.asp

Also think of it another way. Pitcher pitches a pass ball that hit the ground and does not go out of play. Do runners advance at their own risk or are they automatically awarded the next base.

They are not automatically awarded the next base but can advance at their own risk. Since an out cannot be called under dead ball circumstances, the ball must be live.

It is possible the folks who think this is not legal are used to slow pitch rules.