Changing the Count After a Pitch

[Manny A]

Had an interesting scenario in a high school scrimmage, and wanted to get any official ruling or opinion on how to handle it.

Team on offense was from a brand new high school. So needless to say, they had a few players who did not have the highest levels of talent. One batter came up, and took a called Strike. On the next pitch, she "swung" (and I put it in quotes, because it was one of the worst swings I've ever seen in a game) at a pitch that was well outside and halfway to the backstop. For some reason that was explained to me after the game (I was evaluating the crew), the PU did not give a Strike mechanic.

The next pitch was a Ball. On the fourth pitch, the batter again swung at it (a little better swing) and the catcher failed to catch it. The batter's teammates were yelling for her to run to first, but she didn't move. The catcher retrieved the ball, and tagged the batter for the out. Or so I thought. The PU announced that the batter was still up, and signaled a 2-2 count.

The defensive coach requested Time to discuss the count. He politely argued that the batter had taken a called Strike on the first pitch, and then swung at two pitches. The PU said something to him, and he went back to the dugout shaking his head. No harm was done as the batter took the next pitch for a third Strike.

Now, after the game when I asked the crew what happened in that situation, the umpire told me he felt the batter had swung so late on the pitch, that it wasn't a legitimate offer to hit the ball, so he didn't consider it a Strike. I found that logic rather faulty, and suggested to him that he reconsider that position.

But suppose he simply never saw a complete normal swing of the pitch, one that was so obvious that there was no need for an appeal to the base umpire. And when the defensive coach came out a couple of pitches later to argue that the batter had struck out, the PU checks with his partner, and his partner verifies that the batter swung at the second pitch.

I know a checked swing cannot be appealed after a subsequent pitch is delivered. But what about this situation? Can the count be changed at that point if the PU agrees he never saw the swing? Or is it too late since there was a pitch (in fact, two of them in this game) delivered afterward?