Time Limit Games JO fast pitch

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by nsc_wa

When the official time ends in a game, how do you determine a played inning?

Ex: Say your in the bottom of the 6th and have two outs. The batter hits the ball, but the official time expired right before the pitch. As an umpire, should you have stopped the game in the 5th due to lack of time or if the batter gets out you end the game?

99% of the time, the time limit really means, "Do not start any new inning after X minutes". Once you've started the inning, you finish the inning. One exception to that is that if you are over the time limit, and the winning team is already determined, you're done. I do not mean that it is very probable that one team or the other will win ... I mean determined. Example: Home is up and leading when time expires... you're done. Example: Visitor is up by 6 or more, and your league has a 5 run per inning rule - you're done (regardless of who is batting). Example: Your league has no run rule. Home is up by 24, visitor is up with 2 outs and no one on... you're NOT done - finish the top of the inning.

That said, you will run across individual areas that handle it differently or use curfews, and you will run across pre-tourney pool games that have drop dead time limits of the "finish the batter" variety or of the "last pitch" variety - I've never worked either of those where the score mattered - they are glorified scrimmages. In those cases, you should know the local rules in advance, and coaches should be apprised of them at the plate meeting.