Mob at home plate?

[LIUmp]

What are the runner's LEGAL options in that play....

Go back to third.

Jump over the catcher.

Slide LEGALLY into the tag.

Avoid the tag and go around the catcher to the plate.

The runner did not do any of the four. In order to rule obstruction, as was stated, the runner needed to have change course in some way. She did not.

Softball is a game that is set up for collisions. Runners run on basepaths and fielders are set up to field a ball that crosses those paths.

However, a malicious (had to go THROUGH the catcher) head first dive to knock the ball loose is ILLEGAL and interference should be ruled.

Even if you want to call obstruction on the catcher, (far fetched because runner did NOT alter her course to the plate, but still) interference overrides it. Obstruction is ignored and runner is out.

Yes, the play happened fast. But gather yourself, and if you must, call time and talk to your partner to talk about the play .. and replay it in your mind.

[Chess Ref]

Nice job of making the argument.

[BuggBob]

Looking at the video, we all pretty much agree MC, runner out and ejected. It looked to me as if a trailing runner scored when the catcher was on her butt. So the end result would have been one run in, one out and an ejection, and runner returned to last base touched (score then 1-0). That is as it should have been called. But can you imagine the HSS that would have ensued if that was the call made? The umpire crew would have been roasted. "Let the girls decide the game." would have been the mantra of the media and the parents. And if Sally-ram-jet was ejected would she be allowed to play in the next game? It would be interesting to know what the local umpires think of all this who-haa. I guess the little girls are tougher in Texas.

Interesting, in the baseball side of this forum is a video about a brawl during a Texas High School playoff game. Do they actually enforce the NFHS rules in Texas? Because looking at these two videos it sure don't look like they do to me.

HSS = Horizontal S**T Strom, you can't hide from an HSS.