stealing a triple play

[dddunn3d]

Not really, but:

11U, bases loaded, no outs, infielders playing in. B4 hits a line-drive towards F5's feet.

Here's where it get real interesting, real fast. At the same time F5 appears to catch the ball, another ball from an adjacent field appears on our field. It too was on a low line-drive type trajectory, but coming from behind 3B tracking towards the pitching mound. (Later, that 3b coach said that it almost hit him in the back of his head.)

The timing and trajectory of this second ball was such that it fooled both me and the PU into believing that B4's batted ball actually ricocheted off of F5's foot or shin, and rebounded towards F1. I call "No catch" and signal. F1 picks up the foreign ball, also thinking that it was the batted ball, and turns to throw to F3. As I follow the play I notice that F3 is already in the act of catching a throw. F1 stops his actions, and I think "WTF?"

Turns out that F5 actually caught the low line-drive, tagged 3B, and threw to F3 for what would have been a triple-play. But like I said, the timing, angle and trajectory of the errant ball intersected that of the batted ball so cleanly and smoothly that neither of us umpires realized what had actually happened.

We huddled and eventually just ruled no-pitch and reset the play, which incidentally both managers agreed to be the fairest solution. I've had balls from other fields come onto my field at all times: between pitches, during a play, etc. but I've never had one that actually became as involved as this one.

[SanDiegoSteve]

You didn't see the catch? Did you take your eyes off the ball momentarily or something? Wow. So the defense is screwed out of a perfectly good and extremely rare triple play, and it's a do-over? I could never pull that off here. I would get hung by my b@11s if I got that wrong.

[noumpere]

I dont think the offense was disadvantaged by your the extra ball or your call so Id get at least the out at first and probably the triple play but that might be a harder sell because you didnt see the catch.

[dddunn3d]

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[dddunn3d]

#1 - No, I didn't take my eyes off of the ball; it's just that the errant ball, because of the trajectories, angles and sight-lines involved, appeared to be the batted ball.

#2 - Yes, the offense was disadvantaged because of my no catch call. When they heard that, they believed that they were forced to advance. Plus, they also saw a ball rolling on the ground between F5 and F1.

In retrospect, a better, more equitable ruling would have been BR out on the catch, but runners placed on their bases.

(I tried to paste a diagram above, but gobbeldy-gook resulted.)