Not sure if you were referencing me or not on this post. I didn't do a good job of clarifying I was meaning with no one on base and a base hit to the left side. My bad.

I understand that this is what the 'book' tells us to do. My point is this: Since the plate umpire is up the line 20' to 25' to rule on the catch, why is it not OK to let the plate umpire stay there, in the event something extraordinarily odd (since R1 tagging instead of going part way to second is a rarity in itself) happens and R1 advances to third? If R7 did not catch the ball, and R1 advances to third, the PU would have R1. In that situation also, if R1 attempts to advance past third, the PU would still have to beat it to get to the plate to make that call.

I'm far from lazy and I don't give up anything. I back up a step or two, so I have both F7 and R1 in my peripheral vision. When F7 touches the ball, R1 is released and I hustle to get in position to make a call at second, getting a 90 degree angle from the runner's base path going into second. If the ball gets away, my partner has R1 going into third, and I follow around on the outside of the base line in order to box in the runner. If R1 advances past third, PU takes her home, and I move down toward third, once again boxing in the runner.

It's obviously more work for the PU, but this way, we have the runner boxed in the entire way. And of course we pre-game this mechanic. If I have a partner that isn't open to working thisn way, I would have to come in and do the best I can to know when F7 touches the ball.

Let me quote a philosophy from the NCAA Softball Umpire Manual:

So why not come inside since you are using the same technique to watch the runner? This way, the umpire can use the same mechanic on EVERY ball to the outfield, not just those to F7.