running down the 1st baseline

[WestMichiganBlue]

I wonder if you are the young lady I called out last night for this offense.

She was running down the first base line, so half of her was in fair territory. All of her should have been within the 3' lane. She was hit in the back of the left shoulder just before reaching 1B, thus preventing F3 from catching the throw. "Dead ball - Interference - Batter is out!"

Was she hit intentionally by the catcher? I don't know. That would take a very obvious action on the part of the catcher for me to call USC on her. I think that she was trying to thread a throw into a small opening, and it didn't happen. If the runner had been where she belonged then maybe F3 would have caught the ball. But we'll never know. OTOH, had the runner been hit by the ball while in the 3' lane, then all we have is an "ouch" and batter is safe on 1B.

In this situation the runner had no beef. Had she played within the rules she wouldn't have cost her team a possible runner on base. I enjoyed over-hearing the coach rag on his girls on the bench: "I told you girls you have to be in that lane. I told you they would call it! Now we lost a runner!"

WMB